E-KYC, multiple ration cards challenging to surveyors

Pic: A teacher struggles to upload data during the socio-economic survey in Haveri

Haveri: The social and educational survey in Haveri district encountered delays due to incomplete Aadhaar E-KYC and the presence of multiple ration cards in rural households. Surveyors were instructed to use a separate app for Aadhaar E-KYC; however, the process was impeded by app unresponsiveness and server issues, preventing the survey from progressing as planned.

The survey could not commence until the E-KYC process was completed. A surveyor from Hangal taluk stated, "140 families were assigned for the survey. More than one ration card was found in each household, which hindered the expected progress of the survey."

The identification of multiple families in single households caused confusion, especially when several ration cards were linked to one electricity meter RR number. In villages, the number of ration card-based families exceeded the number of houses, making it difficult to consider a joint family as a single unit for the survey.

During the first phase of the survey, a ‘Unique House Number' (UHID) was created based on the RR number of each house's electricity meter. Blocks were allocated based on UHID, and surveyors discovered multiple families upon visiting the households. When surveyors entered the house owner's Aadhaar number in the app, discrepancies were found between the number of people in the house and the size of the owner's family, sources confirmed.

For example, in a household with parents, a son, a daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, the parents and children held separate ration cards. An official explained, "If a family has a BPL or Antyodaya ration card, govt benefits are higher. In rural farming families, children and parents have separate ration cards. The ration card is the basis for determining the family. This is why the number of families identified for the survey in villages is higher than the number of houses."

The official further detailed, "In a district with 4.5 lakh ration cards, 4.1 lakh houses were identified for the survey. Out of the total ration cards, 3.9 lakh are BPL and 63,122 are APL. At first glance, it seems there are more ration cards than houses. This has become a hurdle for surveyors to obtain details while visiting the houses."

Additionally, not all family members completed E-KYC, complicating the survey process. After completing the geo-tagging process, ASHA and Anganwadi workers were directed to verify Aadhaar and complete E-KYC by visiting homes with pamphlets from the State Backwards Classes Commission. An Asha worker expressed concern over delays, stating that the late receipt of pamphlets made it impossible to complete the task.

Despite the hurdles, our district achieved in the survey. Now we are in the top position to conduct a survey, and we will complete our target within the deadline, said Haveri DC Vijay Mahantesh Danammanavar.