Bihar chokes under rush for domicile certificates as voters scramble to meet EC deadline

As Bihar gears up for the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the state is witnessing an unprecedented surge in demand for one document: the domicile certificate.

Ironically, this scramble is being driven by a bureaucratic contradiction — Aadhaar, which the Election Commission (EC) does not accept as valid proof of residence for voter registration, is being widely used to secure domicile certificates, which are then submitted as proof of address.

Since the SIR drive began on June 28, more than 13 lakh applications for domicile certificates have flooded Right to Public Service (RTPS) centres across the state — with about 70,000 new requests pouring in daily. Yet, nearly 9.1 lakh applications remain pending, officials said, as the July 25 deadline looms.

“This demand is overwhelming, and we’re already short-staffed,” admitted an RTPS official, adding that with awareness growing, the application rate is likely to double in coming days. “People find it easier to get a domicile certificate than any other document on the EC’s list.”

Under official rules, applicants are supposed to provide a mix of Aadhaar, ration cards, voter IDs, matriculation certificates, and sworn affidavits to obtain a domicile certificate. However, ground reports from across 10 districts — including CM Nitish Kumar’s Nalanda, Tejashwi Yadav’s Raghopur in Vaishali, and EBC-Dalit belts of Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Muslim-majority Seemanchal — confirm that RTPS centres are bypassing all requirements except Aadhaar.

In village after village, Aadhaar emerges as the only form of identification most people possess. Mohammed Afsar Ali from Purnia’s Kasba summed up the paradox: “We can get a passport and domicile certificate using Aadhaar — but the EC says it’s not valid to register us as voters. How is that logical?”

Others, like Madhubani resident Kishan Choudhary, feel fortunate to have received the certificate. “I’m among the lucky ones. Most of the 3,000 people in my panchayat are still waiting,” he said. For R K Jha, also from Madhubani, the anxiety is real: “I applied for four family members. The deadline is close, and nothing has come through.”

Akshay Kumar Singh, an administrator at Purnia’s Vidya Vihar Institute of Technology, noted that until now, domicile certificates were mostly sought by students and government job applicants. “But now everyone needs one — fast,” he said.

Chimaya N Singh from nearby Srinagar village said that until this drive, he hardly knew anyone with a domicile certificate. “It’s only when someone lands a job that people think about getting one,” he added.

Meanwhile, staff at RTPS centres are battling poor internet speeds and thin manpower as they process documents late into the night. “Ideally, we clear applications in five to six days — much faster than the 15-day mandate,” said a Patna official. “But the system is overloaded. Anyone applying now may not get it before the July 25 cutoff.”

The dilemma has put both voters and officials in a bind: Aadhaar remains central to India’s identity system — except, it seems, when it comes to the one process that defines democratic citizenship.