For years, 42-year-old Manohar Kurmi, a tea garden worker from Lepetkata Tea Estate, had struggled to provide for his family of four. Despite being eligible for Government welfare schemes, he remained excluded. His only fault—he did not have an Aadhaar card.
“It was painful to see benefits meant for us not reaching my family, just because I had no Aadhaar. We worked hard in the tea gardens, but without that card, we were invisible to the system,” recalled Manohar with a heavy voice.
Manohar is not the only one, rather thousands of workers across tea estates in Dibrugarh district faced similar challenges. Many were deprived of subsidized food grains, MGNREGA wages, scholarships, pensions, and even basic identity-linked services.
Recognising the urgency of the issue, the Dibrugarh district administration launched Rapid Aadhaar Enrolment Drive at tea garden areas in 2023. The goal was to cover nearly 2.5 lakh people among disadvantaged groups, especially in tea garden areas. The initiative was not merely about documentation, but about bridging a critical gap between rights and access.
Interacting with Asom Barta, Ananya Chaudhuri, Assistant Commissioner (Branch Officer, Aadhaar) said, “A multi-dimensional strategy has been adopted; thorough gap analysis was conducted through surveys, door-to-door visits, and school enrolment checks. Labour lines and low-penetration zones were sectorised for focused coverage.”
She added that to ensure that people without supporting documents were not left behind, over two lakh caste and delayed birth certificates were issued as link documents.
“Special efforts were made by the administration to make enrolment convenient. Camps were held before and after working hours, on holidays, and even tracked via GPS for accountability,” she shared, adding, “To create awareness micro IEC campaigns were held as well. Community leaders such as ASHA workers and health workers were engaged to motivate hesitant families.
Choudhury informed this reporter that over 10,000 enrolment camps were conducted between April 2023 and March 2025 in the district.
Highlighting the transformation, she said, “When we began in April 2023, Aadhaar coverage was 77% and by June 2025, we achieved 96.8%, enrolling over 2.81 lakh individuals. This has been a game-changer in welfare delivery, financial inclusion, and reducing poverty in tea garden areas. The tangible outcomes have been remarkable. The number of ration card beneficiaries under the NFSA jumped from 6.77 lakh in April 2023 to 9.26 lakh in June 2025 and Aadhaar seeding job card under MGNREGA, rose from 87% to 99.98% while Aadhaar-Based Payment Systems (ABPS) surged from 35% in 2023 to 96% in 2025.”
However, the impact goes beyond statistics. According to the officer, the drive triggered a shift from passive to active beneficiaries, families who once felt neglected began demanding enrolment themselves. There was improved access to rights-based schemes like PMGKY, PMMVY and Eti Koli Duti Paat. Besides, Aadhaar was also used as a golden record for verifying genuine beneficiaries and de-duplication.
The district administration’s effort was widely recognised, with Dibrugarh being ranked first in the District Ranking Framework FY 2024-25 for flagship scheme implementation. In 2025, the initiative recently earned the prestigious Karmashree Award.
On Karmashree award, Ananya told this newsletter, “I am really grateful for the opportunity. This is a dream come true moment which has given me a lot of motivation to work in the future.”
Today, many like Manohar stand as a beneficiary of this transformation. With an Aadhaar card in hand, his family is finally able to receive various Government schemes.
