Monday, January 16, 2012, 14:25

Ranchi: The creation of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) numbers has been halted in Jharkhand‘s urban areas as the state has crossed the limit set for the current financial year.

“The creation of UIDAI numbers has been halted in urban areas of the state. It is continuing in rural areas and would be stopped the moment it reaches its prescribed limit,” an official of UIDAI’s Jharkhand unit told reporters.

“The target of creating UIDAI numbers in India was set at 20 crore in the financial year 2011-2012. In Jharkhand, a total of 80 lakh UIDAI numbers had to be created in the current financial year. For urban and rural areas, the target was 20 lakh and 60 lakh, respectively. In urban areas, a registration of around 22 lakh has taken place till January 7. In rural areas, a registration of 54 lakh has taken place and it will be stopped the moment it touches 60 lakh,” said the official.

UIDAI provides financial assistance of Rs.50 for creation of each UIDAI number. UIDAI officials said, “The UIDAI number creation target till 2014 was fixed at 60 crore. In each financial year from 2011 to 2014, the budget allocation would be for the creation of 20 crore numbers per year. The creation of the UIDAI number could continue if the state government agrees to pay for extra numbers created in the current financial year.”

Now, the state government has to take a decision on the issue. According to an official of the Information and Technology department, the government is interested in continued creation of UIDAI numbers and could take a decision to provide financial assistance to continue their creation.