Aadhaar mandatory for MGNREGS work from April

Beginning April 1, people living in rural areas need to have Aadhaar under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that mandates 100 days work for a household annually.

People registered under the scheme will be required to give proof of possession of Aadhaar or undergo the enrolment process till March 31, 2017, a senior officer in Cabinet Secretariat said.

However, ration card, driving licence, voter identity card, Kisan passbook with photo, job card issued under MGNREGS and a certificate issued by a gazetted officer or a tehsildar will be admissible as proof of identity for people to get the benefits under the scheme till the time they get Aadhaar, he said.

Those who have applied for Aadhaar can show their enrolment slip or copy of application made to the authorities concerned for getting the 12-digit unique identification number which acts as a proof of identity and address anywhere in the country.

"Necessary orders to make enrolment of Aadhaar mandatory for states like Jammu and Kashmir and few others are being issued by the Centre in this regard. Adequate steps will also be taken to ensure that people face no problem in getting Aadhaar number," the officer said.

The government has invoked Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016 for the purpose.

The section mandates that where government provides subsidy, benefit or service from Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), an individual can be asked to undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number.