Six months since the inception of the scheme in Mumbai, the enrollment rate for UID is languishing at 12%, far behind the meet mid-yearly target of 20%.
Out of the 1.2 crore people in the city, a paltry 1.5 lakh have enrolled for UID so far, which is about 5% of the population.
Against a target of enrolling 250 people per day, vendors have managed to rope in a meagre 188 people per day. Around 145 enrollment centres have been established across the city, with four agencies appointed to implement the task.
"We have been given a daily target but how is it possible to meet it if people are not coming forward. A majority of people don't know why UID is important and where to get enrolled. The lapse is both from the vendors' and the civic body's end," said an official from one of the enrollment centres, requesting anonymity.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was given the responsibility of publicising the project, but has clearly failed to do its job.
South Mumbai has the least number of people enrolled for UID. Against the population of 31 lakh, just 2 lakh people have been enrolled. In the western suburbs, out of 55 lakh people, 6.3 lakhs are listed for biometric identification.
"The civic administration is providing logistics to the vendors. We are also keeping a tab on the number of people being enrolled. To generate awareness amongst people, pamphlets are being distributed in housing societies to tell people about their nearest centres," said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner.
Citizens can now fill the forms online on UID website. On submission of the form, one will be given a token and address of the nearest enrollment centre. The UID project in the city wraps up on March 31 next year.
