Aadhaar goof-up: Over 800 in same village have January 1 as registered date of birth.

NewDelhi: More than 800 people from a same village in Haridwar have January 1 as their registered date of birth on their Aadhar cards.

The incident took place in Haridwar’s Gaindi Khata village.

Following the setback, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) clarified saying that the system by default takes January 1 of a particular year as the official date of birth when the applicants do not know their exact birth date or do not have the supporting documents.

“We were told we would be getting a unique identification number. But what’s unique about it? Even our birthdays are the same now,” Wazir Ali Chopra, a resident, said on Saturday.

The concerned authority reacted to the matter saying they will initiate a probe into it and actions will be taken accordingly.

“This came into our notice through your report, will probe matter and take action against wrong-doers,” Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Haridwar, Manish Kumar said.

According to the UIDAI policy, the date of birth is registered in three ways. An individual can either quote the verified date of birth and submit supporting proof or provide declared date of birth without any supporting documents.

In cases of residents who are only able to give their age, January 1 of that year is taken as per the age given by the resident as date of birth by default for the purpose of enrolment.

However, the UIDAI said an update can be done by visiting any Aadhaar enrolment centre or even online at a later stage, in case the resident is able to provide supporting documents for the date of birth.

Earlier in May, it was reported that around 250 villagers in Rajasthan`s Jaisalmer found their Aadhaar cards citing their birth date as January.

Bureau Report