Aadhaar linking centre to be opened in 473 post offices in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As the UID number linking is mandatory to avail various services, the postal department has decided to set up Aadhaar linking centre in 473 post offices across Odisha.

The move came following directive by the Supreme Court to link Aadhaar number with all the services and schemes by March 31, 2018.

Currently, there are 40 Aadhaar linking centres in all the major post offices in Odisha. Another 80 UID linking centres will be set up by end of this week and the postal department is planning to open the centres in total 473 post offices by end of December, said Santosh Kumar Kamila, CPMG, Odisha Circle.

The Aadhaar linking centre will be opened in the General Post Office (GPO), Sahid Nagar post office, Utkal University post office in Bhubaneswar. The centre will also be set up in Cuttack GPO, Telangapenth post office, and the major post offices in Rourkela, Sambalpur and Berhampur, he said.

Two employees have been engaged in each post office for linking the Aadhaar number of citizens with various services. The correction can be made if there will have any error in the name of the Aadhaar holder and address. The customers will not have to pay fee for Aadhaar linking. However, it is chargeable in case of correction is made in the Aadhaar card address or name, Kamila added.

There are total 1,204 post offices in Odisha where the Aadhaar number of the customers will be registered.

The postal department has taken initiatives for completion of Aadhaar linking process before the due date.

Centre has sanctioned Rs 278 crore to open the Aadhaar linking centre in all the post offices, out of which Rs 8 crore has been granted to Odisha.