(HT)
The Union government has made the 12-digit Unique Identification (UID) number must for poor women to get cooking gas connections and defence pensioners to receive their payments, in notifications released this week.The move is expected to draw criticism from activists who say the enrollment to the Aadhaar programme should not be a condition to receive state benefits.
Women below the poverty line (BPL) will need to present their Aadhaar cards if they want free cooking gas (LPG) connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a gazette notification said.“…The use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency,” said the government notification.
