Officials demand  money for Aadhaar cards, allege public

Rairangpur: Staff of Jana Seva Kendras in Rairangpur  block of Mayurbhanj district have been allegedly demanding money from villagers to prepare Aadhaar cards.

Though as per government rules Aadhaar card registration should be made free of cost, staff at the Jana Seva Kendras have been asking villagers to pay Rs 100 to Rs 150 per person.

Similarly, the kendra staff are taking Rs 100 for correction in Aadhaar card instead of Rs 25, which is fixed by the government.

"As the government has given contracts to private agencies for the registration job, staff of those agencies demand money from us. I paid Rs 150 to the Jharadiha Jana Seva Kendra staff to get registered for an Aadhaar card," said Anand Singh, a resident of Jharadiha village.

"When I raised an objection to their demand for money, the staff of the kendra asked me to seek help of State government officials  for an Aadhaar card," Singh added.

Another villager Ram Narayan Prusty said, "Staff of the Bahalda Jana Seva Kendra said they are taking money for the equipment which they bought to prepare the Aadhaar card.

Refuting the charges, Siddharth Pal, Aadhaar Card nodal officer, Rairangpur block, said, "As per the government rules, the registration is done free of cost and we have not received any complaint on demand for money."

Rupak Kumar Das, assistant collector, Rairangpur said, "We have not received any complaint so far. However, if someone files a complaint with us, action will  be taken as per law."