Students group asks Meghalaya not to ahead with Aadhaar

Citing influx as a major concern, a powerful students group in Meghalaya Thursday asked the government not to go ahead with the National Population Register (NPR) biometric enrolment, and the implementation of the Aadhaar scheme in the state.

The Khasi Students' Union (KSU) expressed the need to put on hold the proposed enrolment drive as the state first requires stronger mechanisms to check influx.

"Our demand from the state government is to stop this biometric enrollment and implementation of Aadhaar. Amidst our focus on the need to have strong mechanisms to check influx, this enrolment will defeat the purpose of checking the menace of influx in the state," said KSU supremo Daniel Khyriem.

He alleged that the NPR biometric enrolment or implementation of Aadhaar will only facilitate "outsiders" to strengthen their claim of being genuine residents of Meghalaya.

The NPR biometric enrolment will lead to the implementation of the Unique Identification number (UID) in the state. After the enrolment comes to a close, each individual will be provided with the UID number.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) aims to provide UID or Aadhaar, a 12-digit ID number, to all residents on a voluntary basis.

The NPR biometric enrolment in the state commenced on June 21 from Raj Bhavan where Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary was the first in the state to have completed the process.

The biometric enrolment in the state is part of the second phase of data collection for NPR. The first phase of this national exercise was completed in 2010 along with the housing and house listing operations for the 2011 Census.