National ID card for all

The government plans amending the National Identity Registration Act, 2010, to ensure all citizens have a National Identity Card.

Moinul Hoque Chowdhurybdnews24.com
Published : 28 July 2013, 05:52 AM
Updated : 28 July 2013, 06:28 AM

That will come as ‘smart cards’ valid for ten years, a project funded by the World Bank.

Bangladesh’s population exceeded 150 million in the last National Census.

The government could provide photo-voter card to 90.22 million voters – no mean achievement.

Most of these voters, above 18 years of age, received the laminated voter-cards with their photographs on it.

These cards have helped citizens to establish their identity whenever needed.

The government is also toying with the idea of making it mandatory for citizens to produce these photo-voter cards when they seek to avail of state-sponsored civic services.

The voters were provided these photo-based cards after updating of electoral rolls. The UNDP funded the project.

Later the duration of these voters cards was fixed at 15 years by change in law.

Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) Project Director Brig Gen Saleem Ahmad Khan told bdnews24.com that citizens below 18 years of age, who are not voters, need to be provided with photo identity cards.

“They will be covered by us once the proposal to amend the 2010 act is cleared. The amendment aims to pave the way for issuing national identity to all citizens and we have got a proposal for that,” Khan said.

He said that the proposal, that was raised at a meeting of the Election Commission on July 9, has been forwarded to the Law Ministry.

The EC has to update electoral rolls every year. Khan said once the amendment was through, anyone above 18 will automatically be registered as voters and be eligible for a photo-voter card.

‘Smart Card’

Once the amendment to the 2010 act comes through, smartcards with the citizens identity details with their photographs will be provided to citizens under partial funding of a Tk 13 billion World Bank project.

Computers will be able to read these smartcards and the scope for faking identity will be minimised.

The amendment proposes to reduce the period of validity to 10 years instead of the current 15 years for voter cards.

“That is because the life of a smartcard is not more than ten years. That is why we need the amendment to reduce the period of validity,” Khan said.

“We will take back the existing photo-voter cards and provide the National identity smartcards to all,” he said.

Renewal of these cards will entail a small fee, but the initial issue is free of charge, Khan said.

The amendment to the 2010 act will be placed as a bill in the last session of the current Parliament, possibly in September.