Mumbai housing authority to conduct biometric survey of temporary housing tenants

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) of Mumbai will carry out biometric registration of tenants in “transit camps” to determine the legal status of residents, The Asian Age reports.

MHADA carried out a paper-based survey in 2010, but many of the original tenants of the transit housing have illegally sold their flats. The organization is proposing for current occupants to be legally recognized, following registration, with the government deciding later on what action, if any, to take against those who sold properties illegally. Transit accommodations are provided as temporary housing for people whose are forced to move for building repair or redevelopment by MHADA.

Current tenants will be identified with legal documents and fingerprints for the new digital survey. Software for the biometric survey is being developed by MHADA, and the agency’s Repair and Redevelopment Board Chief Officer Dinkar Jagdale says it will take roughly four weeks to develop and check the software.

There are 56 transit camps across Mumbai containing a total of 21,135 tenements, with nearly 8,500 people living in them illegally.

India’s government has been gradually attempting to expand its use of biometrics to improve service delivery efficiency, with a recent report from a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare-led committee proposing Aadhaar-based biometric patient identification to create interoperable electronic health records.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  India  |  social security