VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has permitted voluntary Aadhaar-based authentication for citizens accessing municipal services online, allowing Urban Local Bodies to use Aadhaar authentication to establish and verify the identity of applicants.
The municipal administration and urban development department issued GO-Ms-179 on Friday, permitting ULBs to use Aadhaar-based Yes/No authentication and/or e-KYC through their online portals.
The notification makes Aadhaar authentication strictly voluntary and requires the concerned authority to obtain the consent of the Aadhaar holder before authentication. No citizen can be denied a municipal service for refusing Aadhaar authentication or being unable to complete the process.
In such cases, officials must inform applicants about alternative means of establishing their identity. These include a passport, ration card, voter identity card and driving licence issued by the competent licensing authority.
The government said the initiative was aimed at making urban civic services faster, simpler and more secure while reducing the need for citizens to repeatedly submit identity documents. Aadhaar authentication is expected to help ULBs prevent impersonation, duplication and fraudulent transactions and improve the accuracy of municipal databases.
The notification was issued under Rule 5 of the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, read with relevant provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
The electronics and Information Technology ministry, in consultation with UIDAI, had permitted the urban development department to undertake Aadhaar authentication for the specified purpose.
Principal secretary Suresh Kumar said technology should reduce, rather than add to, the burden on citizens. The objective, he said, is to enable people to access municipal services with minimum documentation and physical interaction without leading to exclusion.
The initiative is part of AP’s ongoing digitisation of municipal administration, including online civic services and digital channels such as Mana Mitra.
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