Experts question review meeting on UID

Legal experts have questioned the Centre for conducting review meeting to decide the fate of Nandan Nilekani led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) project.

A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet on Friday evening to decide whether the project should continue or be scrapped.

The experts have alleged that government's decision to hold a meet on UID is unconstitutional as it   has not taken the Parliament into confidence.
 
Legal Expert Usha Ramanathan says, “How can a meeting be held when a Parliamentary Committee has already rejected the Bill that talks about providing unique Ids to all Indians. Not only this, but the Standing Committee on Finance had urged the government to "reconsider and review the UID scheme".”

UID activist Gopal Krishna said nobody has the right to collect biometric data as there is no legal basis.

In its report, the Standing Committee had noted that the biometric is untested and uncertain technology.

Concurring with this fact, Usha said neither the National Population Register (NPR) nor UIDAI has the right to collect biometric data without Parliament's approval.

"The government should go back to Parliament because Chidambaram and Nilekani don't run the country. Rather than dealing with who will collect data, the government should consider the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. This meeting is an eyewash," she said.

Unperturbed by the criticism, the government has decided to go ahead with the Prime Minister's pet project in which the some Rs 670 crore has already been spent.

Also, data of some 20 crore Indians has been collected with their biometrics, including finger prints and iris.

The UIDAI has decided to work with the Registrar General India (RGI) to collect biometric data in 13 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura, Goa and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Under the agreement, the RGI will collect some data in coastal areas where UIDAI has no presence.

It has been agreed between the two bodies that they will share the data with each other.

In today's meeting, it will be decided that what data the Registrar General must share with the UIDAI.

Earlier, it was also agreed that fingerprints and iris scans will be collected by both teams. Efforts will also be made to avoid duplication.

Earlier, Home Minister P Chidambaram wanted to know who will be responsible for collecting bio-metric data-Registrar General India or UIDAI.

The RGI which comes under Home Ministry, has the right to collect bio-metric data of all Indian citizens.

Citing slow progress of the project, the UIDAI had sought permission to collect more data. But the Home Ministry objected to it as the agency had permission to collect data of only 20 crore Indians.

Apart from this, the ministry was also not satisfied with data collected by UIDAI, calling it sub-standard.

Concerns were raised about UIDAI's legal parameters to collect personal information and data not vetted by any government agency.

Meanwhile, what has worried the Home Minister is the fact that data collection process by the UIDAI was done through outsourcing.