SHILLONG: As the movement against making Aadhaar mandatory gains momentum in the state, chief minister Mukul Sangma has asked the Centre to exclude Meghalaya from the ambit of the decision. "They (the Centre) must understand the complex challenges and concerns in the northeastern region, which are unique," Sangma, who has himself not enrolled for Aadhaar, told the media on Wednesday.The country is yet to have an updated National Register of Citizens and the identification of genuine citizens and other groups is still an issue in the region, he added. "There is a total lack of synergy and coordination among the different authorities in the Centre, who are giving diverse directions to the people on the issue of Aadhaar," he said. There have been instances, the chief minister said, when students from Meghalaya studying outside the state have been asked for Aadhaar , because of which the state government will not stop Aadhaar enrolment.Sangma also cited the instance of a village where people stopped sending their children to classes after the school pressurized them to produce their Aadhaar cards. Areport on the matter has been sought by the chief minister. He has spoken to Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and both have agreed to "move in the right direction" regarding this, he added. Earlier this year, the Centre had exempted citizens of Assam, Jammu & Kashmir and Meghalaya from quoting their Aadhaar numbers for PAN card applications or for filing income tax returns. Aadhaar enrolment has been low in the northeastern states, with only 7% out of total 3.3 crore people in Assam having enrolled for it. In Meghalaya, only 9% of citizens have enrolled for Aadhaar. Barring Tripura (94%), Aadhaar coverage in the other states of the region — Mizoram (66%), Arunachal Pradesh (65%) and Nagaland (55%) — is not too high either.The movement against the mandatory quoting of Aadhaar for various services has been growing stronger in the state. The opposition Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) in Meghalaya has decided to serve a legal notice on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for declaring that it is mandatory to link Aadhaar with bank accounts. "The party is of the view that when hearing on Aadhaar is on in the Supreme Court, how can linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts be made mandatory.The matter is still sub judice in the apex court," HSPDP president and MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit told reporters here on Tuesday. A campaign to opt out of Aadhaar is being spearheaded in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills by the Meghalaya People's Committee on Aadhaar (MPAC). So far, about 226 people from various parts of the region, who have been enrolled under Aadhaar, signed documents to withdraw from the biometric scheme. A Garo organization, Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE), has also announced that it will oppose the ongoing Aadhaar enrolment in the state on the grounds that it violates citizens' constitutional rights and goes against the Supreme Court ruling. "We support the MPAC movement opposing the implementation of Aadhaar because it is being forced on the people residing in a 6th Schedule state like Meghalaya. We call upon all citizens to join the movement against Aadhaar enrolment," ADE president Dalseng Bira Ch Momin said. "Biometric identification of citizens is a comprehensiveintelligence initiative with financial surveillance at its core," he added.

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