By Varsha Priyadarshini & Chitra Rawat

Shops near Labour Chowk, Sector 58, Noida that provide aadhaar related services

In this three-part series, we highlight the challenges of updating aadhaar for migrant workers in India. In the first part, we looked at the importance of aadhaar w.r.t the government’s welfare services. We then shared our team’s on-ground experiences and insights on visiting Aadhaar Update Centres across urban centres. In part two, we discussed the challenges faced by different service providers in enabling aadhaar update services in rural centres. We also shed light on the malpractices associated with aadhaar service delivery and how they can be improved.

In the third and concluding part, we bring to you two stories from the ground - one on the hurdles faced by migrant workers while accessing aadhaar updation services in destination states and the need for last-mile facilitation; another on the informal mechanisms through which aadhaar service providers keep up with the demand for aadhaar updations and the need to address the same.

Our focus for this issue is on the urban centres of Thane (Maharashtra) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh) - both developing areas which attract migrant workers from all parts of the country. Our Chalo Saathis routinely help workers in these areas get their Aadhaar Cards updated via different channels that include digital service providers, local bank branches and Aadhaar Seva Kendras.

"Aadhaar ke chakkar mein din ki dhyadi chali jayegi". - Raghav (name changed), a migrant worker from Samastipur, Bihar.

22-year-old Raghav works at a construction site on the outskirts of Thane. He lives in a rented accommodation with many young workers from other source states. Raghav and his friends work in Thane for 6 months and return to their respective villages during Holi, which also happens to be the harvest time (a typical pattern of seasonal migration).

The site in charge has asked workers to have their Aadhaar and PAN cards ready for enrolment under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act). This is the first time Raghav has heard of the BOCW Act (locally referred to as“bokwa” in Maharashtra). The site in charge informed him that it is a government provision for construction workers like him, and he can only avail its benefits after he enrols.

Chalo team members interacting with workers in Noida and Thane.

When he visits to the BOCW enrolment desk at the construction site (run by a local NGO), the volunteers point out that his name is spelt differently on his Aadhaar and PAN card. This mismatch makes him ineligible for BOCW enrolment, as his KYC process cannot be completed if the information on the documents required for registration does not match. PAN, like Aadhaar, is not a mandatory requirement for BOCW registration. However, both identity proofs are the most preferred documents for completing the KYC process.

Raghav does not know of any place in the city where he can get his Aadhaar card updated. The construction site is also located on the outskirts, and it can therefore take more than a day to locate a reliable Aadhaar card centre. If he persists, he will be missing out on two days’ wages which he cannot afford to lose. He also realises that returning to his village and getting his Aadhaar updated from there will only add to the waiting period. He might even miss out on the opportunity to enrol himself.

Our Chalo Saathis who were working on the same construction site proactively took up Raghav’s case. They helped him with his Aadhaar card update. The process was far from simple. Here’s what they had to say:

First, we tried getting a token number at the local Aadhaar Seva Kendra, but all the slots were booked, and the waiting period was 2 months. Next, we went to the market where most of the Maharashtra E-Seva Kendras were located, but none of them were extending Aadhaar-specific services due to procedural delays. One E-Seva Kendra quoted an amount of Rs 400 for the service, which Raghav could not afford. Note that a simple demographic update only requires the customer to pay Rs. 50, as per UIDAI guidelines.

Next, we contacted over 10 local bank branches and enquired if aadhaar updation services were available on their premises. Out of all the branches contacted, there was just one extending these services.

We went to the bank branch with Raghav to get his token number. He was unclear on the process and the branch employees were not amicable in responding to his queries. We assisted Raghav in completing the application. The Aadhaar operator at the bank assured Raghav that he will receive an update in the next 10-15 days, and the physical copy of his card will be sent to his permanent address.

Our team further informed Raghav that he can get his e-Aadhaar card once the update is successful, even if his hard copy gets delivered to his village in Samastipur.

The Labour Chowk in Sector 58, Noida has almost 200-300 semi-skilled and unskilled workers, who gather early in the morning, looking for daily wage employment. The chowk has migrant workers, mostly from UP, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. A Chalo Saathi often visits this chowk to deliver Cash-In-Cash-Out services, as well as help the workers acquire documentation and identity-related services.

Our engagement with the workers made us realise that there are various discrepancies in their Aadhaar Cards which need to be corrected. Most of them pertained to the spelling of their names. However, when we asked the workers whether their present mobile numbers were connected to their Aadhaar, they responded in the negative. While the workers urgently needed to get demographic updates done, none of them had their mobile numbers linked to their Aadhaar. In the absence of this, they only had one option left - to get their Aadhaar updates done from an Aadhaar Seva Kendra or a permanent centre that was authorised to carry out these updates.

Pictures of the Labour Chowk in Noida, Sector 58

We checked the official UIDAI website and realised that there were no permanent centres nearby. No bank branch in the vicinity was authorised for Aadhaar updates either. The nearest official centre to get biometric updates done from was 10 kms away, which meant that workers had to spend at least Rs 150 to get to the centre and back.

Asif (name changed), our Chalo Saathi working in the area, investigated this further to understand how workers in the area got their Aadhaar Cards updated. Talking directly to the service providers (Aadhaar Seva Kendras, Bank branches or CSCs) did not provide him with any additional information. Questions around Aadhaar were always treated with suspicion.

It was after interacting with the workers that he realised that there were several “unofficial” ways in which Aadhaar was getting updated locally. Operators from Aadhaar Seva Kendras or the ones working at different bank branches would take the Aadhaar update machine (the biometric device) to their residences, towards the end of the day. They would provide services from their homes, charging people somewhere between Rs 500- Rs 700 for each update, which is over 5-10 times the amount fixed by the UIDAI (Rs 50-Rs 100). This was also a convenient time (post 6 pm) for operation as workers would be back home from their day's work.

It needs to be noted that Aadhaar regulations do not allow the devices to be moved out of the premises from which the authorised service provider operates. This is to ensure privacy and restrict cases of fraud.

In a scenario where there is a huge mismatch between demand and supply for aadhaar services; operators have the upper hand in how these services get delivered to the public. Workers are willing to shell out exorbitant amounts as this is a way more accessible process for them. They do not have to travel long distances, nor face the risk of failed applications because the operators guarantee them that their application will come through. Because of the many access costs and the huge information asymmetry in the aadhaar ecosystem, informal mechanisms, like the one mentioned above, arise to meet the soaring demand. While it seems like a more feasible option for workers, it opens up possibilities for fraud, and exploitation.

With this, we conclude our three part series on - ‘Mission Updating Aadhaar’. Stay tuned to PRAVASI for more insights from the last mile!