No first-time Aadhaar card for people above 18 years in Assam: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced that people above 18 years of age will not get first-time Aadhaar cards in the state as a precautionary measure to check illegal immigrants from getting Indian citizenship.
Only a one-month window from September 1 will be given to them to apply for an Aadhaar card if anyone has not got the document yet, he told reporters after a Cabinet meeting here. First-time Aadhaar cards will no longer be issued to individuals above 18 years of age from October onwards, barring a section of people.
Tea Tribes, SC and ST people above 18 years of age will continue to receive new Aadhaar cards for the next one year, Sarma clarified.
According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), there is no age limit defined for Aadhaar enrolment. Even a newborn can get enrolled.
“The decision to restrict Aadhaar card issuance is seen as part of the efforts to ensure the authenticity of citizens’ identities. This move highlights the government’s focus on addressing concerns about potential illegal immigration from Bangladesh in the last one year,” Sarma said.
He said if a genuine Indian adult citizen is left out from the Aadhaar network, he or she can apply to the district commissioner concerned, who will verify the credentials and issue the same in the “rarest of the rare” cases. “The Aadhaar saturation of general people in Assam is 103 per cent, which signifies that no people are left and the number of cards exceeded the number of total people,” Sarma said. However, the saturation percentage for tea tribe, SC and ST communities is 96 per cent, implying that not all people belonging to these groups have got Aadhaar cards, he explained.
Asked about the reasons for such a step, Sarma said, “In the last one year, we have been regularly capturing illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and pushing them back. Yesterday, we pushed back seven people. We do not know if anyone could slip through the security checks and stay back.
“This is a precautionary measure, so that no illegal foreigner can become an Indian citizen in the future. This is going to be a big deterrent.”
He also stated that this decision of not giving the first-time Aadhaar cards to adults will be permanent, considering the vulnerability of the state to infiltration.
“This preventive measure is irrespective of religion or any other criteria,” Sarma stressed.