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Ludhiana's project to assign Unique Identification (UID) number plates to households faces new challenges, leading to a third relaunch. The initiative, aimed at digitizing property records, stalled as the contractor refused drone surveys due to cost disputes, prompting the Municipal Corporation (MC) to scrap the contract. This follows two previous failures. The current World Bank-supported project, initially budgeted at INR 5.75 crore, will now require new tenders. Concerns about the contractor's repeated involvement have been raised, highlighting ongoing struggles with project execution and accountability in implementing the long-delayed UID system.
Ludhiana's project to assign Unique Identification (UID) number plates to households is facing new difficulties. Recently, due to disputes over surveying methods and costs, work has halted in Ludhiana, Punjab. The Municipal Corporation (MC) is preparing for a third attempt to implement the initiative. Advertisement
This initiative aims to digitize property records and improve revenue collection through scannable QR-code plates. It is now on its third relaunch after two previous failures. The first attempt, managed by the municipal corporation, installed only 35,000 UID plates before ending prematurely. A second attempt, under the central government's Smart City Mission, saw 80,000 plates installed and a GIS (Geographic Information System) survey of about 1.5 lakh properties. However, this effort also did not succeed because the contractor refused to conduct a drone-based survey, stating that the costs for such a survey were three times higher than budgeted and arguing it was not part of the original agreement.
The current project, which is supported by the World Bank, also faced a halt. After starting plate installation, the contractor was directed by the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) to switch to drone-based surveying. The firm again refused, citing significantly increased costs beyond the allocated INR 5.75 crore.
Municipal Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal confirmed the current project is shelved. The MC has now scrapped this contract. The MC is preparing for a third rollout with new tenders, which will exclude areas where plates were already installed.
Implementing large-scale digital identification projects for properties in urban areas often faces technical, financial, and contractual challenges.
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