'Aadhaar' takes off in Tembhli village
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Five women and three children from Tembhli village in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district were among the first people to receive a unique identification number (UID)
Dashrath Ram, 60, and his wife Hira Devi, 57, of Tembhli village in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district are amused by the many firsts happening around them. A road -- a first for Tembhli -- is being hurriedly laid near the daily-wage labourers’ thatched hut. The village had its first tryst with electricity eight days ago. And the ration shopkeeper’s stocks are unusually high -- another first -- says Dashrath who tries to run a family of four on Rs 50 a day.
After many years, Tembhli suddenly feels blessed thanks to the government choosing the village to kick off an ambitious unique identification project called Aadhaar that aims to include the likes of Dashrath in its records and welfare schemes. Dashrath and 1,097 other villagers from Tembhli became the first Indians to get their unique ID numbers on Wednesday from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Tembhli, inhabited by Bhil tribals, is situated 50 km from the nearest town Shahada. The villagers rely on two hand pumps for water; electricity is a luxury that arrives at 10 pm and leaves at 7 am. None of the houses has a refrigerator, though about ten households have managed to get hold of a TV. All the houses have thatched roofs, and no indoor toilet. About 20 people have a mobile phone though, which helps them get work. “It’s just a radio. None of us have enough balance to make a call,” jokes one village elder.
The village school adjacent to the enrolment centre is full of children who receive a meal a day as part of the midday meal scheme. “The kids have a problem picking up Hindi as the language is not spoken in the village. We are also trying to teach them the English alphabet,” says a 24-year-old schoolteacher.
These children also form part of Aadhaar’s target audience. A unique ID will help schools admit children more easily, as no other proof is needed. The project may also help the government monitor young children in anganwadis.
Tembhli does not have a doctor. “For emergency cases we have to run to Shahada, the nearby town, where hospitals are located,” the villagers say. Will Aadhaar improve things? The villagers think so. Indeed, there is no shortage of enthusiasm when it comes to the project.
“It will help our children when getting them admitted to the village school. It will also help us get rations anywhere we go. It will also help us get employment under sarkari (government)schemes,” the villagers, most of them daily-wage labourers, believe.
But not everyone in Tembhli is enthusiastic. Uttam Ram, who is partially blind, thinks they should invest in basic facilities rather than in Aadhaar. A unique number will just help him add to his collection of cards and certificates, he says.
What happens when normalcy returns to Tembhli? Will Aadhaar end up being just another ambitious scheme cooked up to gloss over the cracks? For now, Tembhli’s residents don’t care as they bask in the glow of their first brush with fame as the prime minister and UPA chairperson officially launched the UPA’s most ambitious project yet.
Aadhaar, which will offer a unique identity to every Indian, involves a 12-digit number that will link to demographic details, bank accounts, etc, and will help people access government programmes. It will also address tricky issues such as vote rigging during elections and embezzlement of government funds meant for the people.
Source: The Indian Express, September 29, 2010
The Economic Times, September 29, 2010
http://www.ndtv.com, September 2010