Accelerated project to issue NICs

The accelerated program launched to issue one million National Identity Cards got under way last week with the dispatch of over a million newly printed application forms to the Grama Niladharis throughout the island through Government Agents and Divisional Secretaries by the Department of Registration of Persons.

The program has been launched in view of the Legislation passed in Parliament making it mandatory for all voting at future elections to prove his or her identity at the time of voting. Photographs of the new Identity Cards to be issued will be in colour, the Public Security Law and Order Ministry said.

All applicants for the new IDs should submit colour photographs with the new application forms. Public Security, Law and Order Ministry Secretary Tilak Ranaviraja said all those who do not possess National Identity Cards should contact Grama Niladharis and obtain application forms. These should be submitted to the Grama Niladharis to be submitted to the Department through the Divisional Secretaries, he said.

The Divisional Secretaries have been advised to submit the completed application forms to the Department at Commissioner, Registration of Persons Department, Keppetipola Mawatha, Colombo 05. The Department will feed all new applications into computers at the new Computerised Division of the Department at , Colombo.

Though the new program is designed to issue computerised identity cards, the Department will continue to issue the identity cards on the present format but with colour photographs until the computerised system becomes fully operational.