Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the state government will stop issuing Aadhaar cards to individuals above 18 years of age after this month, except in the rarest of cases and only with approval from the Deputy Commissioner.

He said that ST, SC and Tea Tribe communities will continue to be eligible for one year to get Aadhaar card. The order has been issued to prohibit Bangladeshi immigrants from getting the card issued by UIDAI.

The Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced that people above 18 years of age will not get first-time Aadhaar cards in the state as a precautionary measure to check illegal immigrants from getting Indian citizenship.

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Assam CM’s announcement on Aadhaar

Briefing the media after a state cabinet meeting, Sarma said only a one-month window would be given to people above 18 years of age to apply for an Aadhaar card if anyone has not got the same yet.

However, the CM said that people belonging to Tea Tribes, SC and ST people and are above 18 years of age will continue to receive Aadhaar cards for the next one year.

“The decision to restrict Aadhaar card issuance is seen as part of the efforts to ensure the authenticity of citizens’ identities. This move highlights the government’s focus on addressing concerns about potential illegal immigration from Bangladesh in the last one year,” Sarma said, quoted PTI.

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Reason behind the step

Aadhaar was originally meant to serve only as a proof of identity, not as proof of citizenship. Recently, the Supreme Court also made this clear while hearing petitions against Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter roll.

According to the Aadhaar Act, the Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or where someone lives. But the new verification tools are being designed to ensure that only Indian citizens are issued Aadhaar numbers going forward.

Now, new steps are being taken to ensure that only verified adults can get an Aadhaar number, a report by Times of India said. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which manages Aadhaar, is now mulling to use online records like passports, ration cards, birth and school certificates to verify a person’s details during enrolment and updates.

This will help make the Aadhaar system more reliable and secure.