“We have collected available information from people having ration cards and job cards under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to be sent to Delhi. We will gradually cover all the citizens in the state,” Warjri told.
Under the UID scheme launched by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre in June, every Indian citizen will get a unique number that will identify him/her. The number will serve as a multi-purpose identity and can be used as an alternative for ration cards, credit cards and job cards under the Nation Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
Warjri said once the scheme is fully implemented, it would help detect illegal migrants from outside the country as every Indian citizen will be accounted for under the scheme. Moreover, the implementation of the scheme across the country will promote a sense of belonging among the citizens and ensure their greater participation in government programmes and policies.
Warjri said Meghalaya was the first state to discuss the modalities of the UID scheme with Nandan Nilekani, the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India who holds the rank of a cabinet minister and is former co-chairman of Infosys.
A state government official said Nilekani had met Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang at Meghalaya House in New Delhi on August 26. Nilekani told Lapang he was the first chief minister to have met him for discussing the implementation of the unique identification project.
During the meeting, Nilekani made a presentation on the objectives and salient features of the programme and its benefits for the common man.
Lapang urged Nilekani to start the process of allotting the unique identification number from Meghalaya, especially the border districts, as the state shares a long border with Bangladesh and faces problems like infiltration.
Lapang, also the chairman of the North East Congress Coordination Committee, assured Nilekani of full co-operation from all the Congress-ruled states in the Northeast in implementation of the project at the earliest.