HYDERABAD, Sept 9: Around 38,000 Computerized National Identity Cards are lying at the National Database and Registration Authority’s Central Distribution Centre, Hyderabad, that are to be collected by applicants from different districts.
Investigations by this correspondent on Tuesday revealed that the NADRA head office had issued 170,361 CNICs to the Hyderabad CDC which had delivered 36,267 CNICs to taluka offices of the authority.
The NADRA has set Dec 31, 2003, as the last date for replacing old cards with CNICs and it is in the wake of this deadline, rush of Haj pilgrims and students applying for admission to colleges where CNICs have been made compulsory, that more and more people are applying for cards at the Nadra Swift Registration Centre, located at the State Life building on the Thandi Sarak.
NSRC assistant manager Din Mohammad Junejo and Zeeshan Haider Siddiqui said those intending to get CNICs were required to get a token first and then get their data entered in computers through Nadra officials to avoid errors. Subsequently, the people were handed over filled computerized forms to be attested by an officer not below grade 17. Thereafter, the forms were again submitted at the NSRC.
The officials said for ordinary delivery within 35 to 40 days, Rs60 were charged and for urgent delivery within 15 to 20 days, Rs180 were to be paid.
NSRC system engineer Farrukh Raja said data was being entered by Nadra officials themselves following countless errors witnessed in forms.
He pointed out that through an online system of computer network, the entire data of applicants collected at the centre was sent to the NADRA Islamabad office which issued CNICs.
In case of duplicate data of any individual, the issuance of CNIC is blocked till it is cleared whether the individual has obtained a computerized card or not. Duplication is found as the people often re-submit their forms as they do not get CNICs for which they had applied months back.
When asked about the people’s complaints that they were not being delivered CNICs though they had filled forms several months back, Mr Junejo conceded that forms had gone missing when the system was handled by officials of the registration office.
He said if any person produced his receipt of Rs35 that was paid when he submitted form at the registration office, the applicant was issued CNIC from the NSRC after payment of Rs25. He said particulars of such applicants were first checked on computer and if no data was found, the individuals had to fill forms again.
On average four to five complaints were received every day from the people who had not been delivered their cards.
Mr Junejo said the data of 55,000 individuals had been processed through computers at the Nadra office, adding that 500 forms were being processed daily against previous entries of 170 per day.
He confirmed that 38,000 CNICs were yet to be obtained by respective applicants from the CDC.
The people are also facing inconvenience as they have to queue outside the NSRC for hours for their turn.
