The Delhi government has signed a pact with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for smooth implementation of its ambitious project to issue identification numbers to the city's residents.

Delhi Revenue Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said Delhi government will whole heartedly provide all assistance for successful implementation of the national project.

Officials said Delhi is likely to be one of the first states to get the Unique Identification Numbers.

As per the MoU, the UIDAI will develop standards for recording bio-metric data of residents and prescribe standards and criteria for verification of residents to be eligible for the UID and the city government will put in place an institutional mechanism and provide human resources for data collection.

Delhi Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, last month had approved the MoU with the UIDAI.

Chauhan said a state level council headed by Dikshit has been constituted to oversee implementation of the project in Delhi. Chauhan, Finance Minister A K Walia and Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta are members of the council. An implementation committee with the Chief Secretary as its chairman has also been formed.

Chauhan said the government will also provide required financial and other resources to UIDAI. The Revenue Department has been declared as the nodal department for the project and divisional commissioners have been designated as the Nodal Officers.

Last September, after a meeting with Dikshit, UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani had said that residents of Delhi may get their identification numbers within three years.

The Authority has already signed similar pact with some states and plans to enter into such agreements with other states for its nation-wide project.

Chauhan said the unique identification number would also help the city government to more effectively deliver services to the people.

The collaboration with UIDAI will help accurate verification and identification of beneficiaries for various government schemes, officials said.