Rourkela: Though people should ideally pay nothing to get their Aadhaar cards, here in the city they are being taken for a ride in Jana Seva Kendras, the centres assigned by the administration to prepare fresh Aadhaar cards.
These centres continue to exploit people by illegally demanding up to Rs 300 from them to offer the service, a report said.
Most of the centres collect the money from the people for new enrolment, correction, upgradation and registration of their mobile numbers. The staffers of the centre refuse to help those who are reluctant to pay the charges, it was learnt.
For instance, a poor man in one such centre questioned about the reason behind demanding money and his application was rejected outright.
Similarly, two centres in Bandhamunda area demand Rs 200 for each card, alleged Ramdas Khemka of Sector B. He went with his wife and son to enroll for three Aadhar cards but the personnel at the centre refuse to register their names as he argued about collection of money for the purpose, Khemka said. Left with no option, he has to bow before their demands, Khemka added.
While locals are seen queuing up before the centres for hours, the centres harass them on most occassions.
It is not the case of Ramdas only, people are getting exploited at the centres in Koel Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Uditnagar, Main Market, Panposh, Chhend and other regions of the city.
KC Parida, an official of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) who is in charge of Aadhaar centres said some private agencies have been roped in to make the job easy for the Aadhaar applicants. However, no charges should be demanded for preparation of new Aadhaar cards. For corrections and upgradations, one need to pay a maximum of Rs 30 and Rs 20 for registration of mobile numbers, he said.
Meanwhile, the concerned RMC officials, after receiving several complaints, took up the issue with the collector Vineet Bhardwaj.
The agencies, who demand money for new registration, would be blacklisted if complaints are registered against them, the collector said. PNN