Village, ward secretariat staff ‘burdened’ by Aadhaar, voter card seeding

Officials forcing us to meet targets, they complain

Secretaries in the village and ward secretariats are reportedly being forced by higher authorities to meet the targets set for linking of Aadhaar cards of voters with Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) in their respective areas.

As per the Election Commission of India, the Aadhaar numbers of the voters have to be submitted in Form 6B only if the respective voter wishes to do so.

However, several people in the city are receiving calls from the staff of the secretariats, who are appointed as Booth-Level Officers alongside 28 other government and semi-government employees from various departments.

In many cases, voters are informed that their votes would be deleted if they fail to visit the secretariats and submit their Aadhaar numbers.

Meanwhile, the secretariat staff say that they are being forced by their respective line department officials to achieve seeding targets even as they are burdened with work related to various departments.

"We are already preoccupied with housing, welfare, municipal, revenue, and several other departmental works. Compelling the secretariats to carry out Aadhaar seeding and achieving the target is putting a lot of pressure on us. This could lead to various issues," a ward secretary from the city told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.

"The seeding is to be completed by April 2023 but for reasons not known to us, officials are asking us to complete the task as early as possible," said another ward secretariat employee.