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| PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), JANUARY 22, 2021 (MAGHA 2, 1942 SAKA) | ||
EXTRAORDINARY
Published by Authority
CHANDIGARH, FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021 (MAGHA 2, 1942 SAKA)
GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT
NOTIFICATION
The 22nd January, 2021
No 4/4/17-2WCD(3 WCD)241.-Whereas, the use of Aadhaar as an identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the Government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency, and enables beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly in a convenient and seamless manner by obviating the need to produce multiple documents to prove one's identity;
And whereas, the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development, is administering the Financial Assistance to Old Age Person Scheme to those males who are 65 years of age and above and females 58 years and above having total annual income of not more than Rs.60,000/- including business or rental or interest income. The Applicant having maximum 2.5 Acre Nehri/Chahi land or maximum 5 Acre Barani land ownership and 5 Acre land in waterlogged area (including husband & wife) is also eligible for pension as per report of revenue department (Patwari), which is being implemented through the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development (Social Security branch).
And whereas, under the Scheme, Rs.750 per month financial assistance is given to the old age beneficiaries by the Implementing Agency as per the extant Scheme guidelines;
And whereas, the aforesaid Scheme involves recurring expenditure incurred from the Consolidated Fund of Punjab.
Now, therefore, in pursuance of section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), the government of Punjab hereby notifies the following, namely:-
10. (1) An individual eligible for receiving the benefits under the Scheme shall hereby be required to furnish proof of possession of the Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
(2) Any individual desirous of availing benefits under the Scheme, who does not possess the Aadhaar number or, has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, shall be required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment before registering for the Scheme provided that he is entitled to obtain Aadhaar as per section 3 of the PUNJAB GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA), JANUARY 22, 2021 (MAGHA 2, 1942 SAKA) 129 (3) As per regulation 12 of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, the Department through its Implementing Agency, is required to offer Aadhaar enrolment facilities for the beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar and in case there is no Aadhaar enrolment centre located in the respective Block or Taluka or Tehsil, the Department through its Implementing agency shall provide Aadhaar enrolment facilities at convenient locations in coordination with the existing Registrars of UIDAI or by becoming a UIDAI Registrar themselves:
Provided that till the time Aadhaar is assigned to the individual, benefits under the Scheme shall be given to such individual, subject to the production of the following documents, namely :–
(a) if he has enrolled, his Aadhaar Enrolment Identification slip; and
(b) any one of the following documents, namely :-
(i) Voter Identity Card; or
(ii) Voter List,or
(iii) Birth Certificate, or
(iv) Matriculation Certificate
Provided further that the above documents may be checked by an officer specifically designated by the Department for that purpose.
11. In order to provide benefits to the beneficiaries under the Scheme conveniently, the Department through its Implementing Agency shall make all the required arrangements to ensure that wide publicity through the media shall be given to the beneficiaries to make them aware of the said requirement.
12. In all cases, where Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor biometrics of the beneficiaries or due to any other reason, the following remedial mechanisms shall be adopted, namely:-
(g) in case of poor fingerprint quality, iris scan or face authentication facility shall be adopted for authentication, thereby the Department through its Implementing Agency shall make provisions for iris scanners or face authentication along with finger-print authentication for delivery of benefits in seamless manner;
(h) in case the biometric authentication through fingerprints or iris scan or face authentication is not successful, wherever feasible and admissible authentication by Aadhaar One Time Password or Time-based One-Time Password with limited time validity, as the case may be, shall be offered;
(i) in all other cases where biometric or Aadhaar One Time Password or Time- based One-Time Password authentication is not possible, benefits under the Scheme may be given on the basis of physical Aadhaar letter whose authenticity can be verified through the Quick Response code printed on the Aadhaar letter and the necessary arrangement of Quick Response code reader shall be provided at the convenient locations by the Department through its Implementing Agency.
13. In addition to the above, in order to ensure that no bona fide beneficiary under the Scheme is deprived of his due benefits, the Department through its Implementing Agency shall follow the exception handling mechanism as outlined in the Office Memorandum of DBT Mission, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India dated 19th December 2017.
14. This notification shall come into effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
RAJI P. SHRIVASTAVA,
Principal Secretary to the Govt. of Punjab,