New Delhi: Passengers attempting to travel without an Aadhaar card could soon be denied a ticket. The Railways’ move will be in contrast with a Supreme Court order last year restricting the use of Aadhaar to the public distribution system (PDS) and LPG connections.
According to reports, Indian Railways is set to link passenger ticketing services with the database scheme, in what is being seen as a bid to slash spending on subsidies and other concessions. The matter is pending before the Constitution Bench for a final decision. The Railways’ plan will be implemented in two phases, sources say.
In the first stage, it will be necessary to provide an Aadhaar number to get concessions under various quotas, such as those for senior citizens, freedom fighters, the disabled, students, and unemployed youths. Indian Railways provides concessions in fares to 53 categories. A senior ministry official said the policy in this regard will be approved and implemented in 15 days.
In the second phase, that will take nearly two months, the Railways will link all ticketing services to the Aadhaar card. This means that a passenger will have to provide the unique identity number at the time of booking a ticket either online or at the reservation windows.