Staff Reporter

Shillong, May 4: Meghalaya has registered a very low percentage of Aadhaar enrolment among children.

Informing this today, Minister in-charge Social Welfare Paul Lyngdoh told reporters that the Aadhaar enrolment among children in the state is somewhere between 11 to 13 per cent.

He said that the issue was also discussed with the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani during a video conferencing held last week.

“This is an area of concern. In fact, I have made a personal request to the minister in charge that as on date the Aadhaar registration in Meghalaya is 71 per cent (and) probably in the next 6 months or so, the figures will go up and we will be in a position to optimize the benefits of whatever schemes coming from the central government,” Lyngdoh added.

The minister said that the department will try its best to improve the Aadhaar enrolment among children by involving the deputy commissioners of all the districts in the state.

Asked on the reason for low enrolment, Lyngdoh however said, “These are grey areas but more important than the problem the solution is that we actively engaged the DCs concerned so that somebody takes responsibility on behalf of each district rather than leaving the matter alone with the social welfare department.”

“Our duty as a government is to try and improve things and that is exactly what we are doing by involving the DCs, by involving the administration, by proactively pushing the officers to go to the field and try to upscale the rate of registration (in the state),” he added.

On the response of the central minister, Lyngdoh said, “But overall, the scene is not so bad because it is 71 per cent across the state but the request that we have made, she (Irani) was positive that since we are making efforts one and two, it is a new government, a new government that is hardly two-month-old so give this government a chance.”