By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 28: Two major national initiatives were on Tuesday launched in Meghalaya namely, Aadhaar Mission Mode Project (MMP) 2.0 and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) 3.0, marking a major stride towards universal Aadhaar authentication and clean energy access for the poorest households
They were launched by the Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs.
Under PMUY 3.0, eligible Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will receive free LPG connections, while Aadhaar MMP 2.0 will fast-track eKYC completion, strengthen data integrity, and enable seamless beneficiary verification under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The launch event also reviewed key Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms, including mandatory ePoS transactions at all Fair Price Shops (FPSs), route optimisation, and Vehicle Location Tracking Systems (VLTS) to ensure real-time monitoring of PDS delivery vehicles.
The meeting was chaired by Commissioner & Secretary Pravin Bakshi and attended by Director Saloni Verma along with Deputy Commissioners, Sub-Divisional Officers (Civil), senior Supply officials, IOCL representatives, and officials from the World Food Programme (WFP) and General Administration Department (GAD-B).
Speaking on the occasion, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Methodious Dkhar underscored that completing eKYC for all NFSA beneficiaries is a legal mandate, as directed by the Supreme Court in M.A. No. 9 of 2022 in Suo Motu Writ (Civil) No. 6 of 2020 dated 30 April 2025.
He said that the Centre has set June 30, 2025, as the deadline for Aadhaar seeding and eKYC completion, warning that non-compliance could result in curtailed foodgrain allocations and subsidy holds.
As of September 30, 2025, Meghalaya has 21.45 lakh NFSA beneficiaries and 4.21 lakh ration cards, with 8.20 lakh beneficiaries having completed eKYC. To accelerate this process, the department has launched a mission-mode campaign through the SMART-PDS system for automated matching, manual verification, and correction of invalid entries, supported by fortnightly district progress reviews.
Reiterating the state’s zero-tolerance approach toward diversion, the minister stated that only automated ePoS transactions will qualify for subsidy disbursement under NFSA. Any unautomated sales will be treated as diversion.
Automation has now crossed 91%, aided by Vigilance Committees under the Meghalaya Food Security Rules, 2018, which actively monitor compliance and promote transparency across all FPSs. To strengthen accountability and logistics, the department is implementing route optimisation to address terrain and weather challenges, while VLTS is being deployed on all PDS delivery vehicles to ensure punctuality, traceability, and prevent pilferage from FCI godowns to FPSs.
Under Aadhaar MMP 2.0, the Department is standardising verification workflows, monitoring dashboards, and automated alerts. The initiative will also introduce performance-based incentives for FPS dealers linked to Aadhaar seeding, timely ePoS transactions, and grievance responsiveness.
Simultaneously, the state will facilitate PMUY 3.0 free LPG connections for BPL families by aligning enrolment with eKYC camps and mobile IEC drives to ensure maximum outreach. District administrations have been instructed to integrate PMUY identification with Rightful Targeting datasets to guarantee inclusion of the poorest and most deserving households.
A recent inter-database analysis by the central government flagged 49,876 potentially ineligible entries in Meghalaya’s NFSA beneficiary list. All districts have been directed to verify, correct, or delete such cases to protect the entitlements of genuine beneficiaries.
Further, citizens are encouraged to use the Mera Ration, Anna Mitra, and Anna Sahayata mobile applications, or contact helpline numbers 1967/14445 or WhatsApp 9402327737 for any information or grievances related to the PDS.
“eKYC is a legal mandate and must be completed 100%. All NFSA transactions must go through ePoS to ensure full accountability,” the minister said. He added, “Through Aadhaar MMP 2.0, route optimisation, VLTS, and PMUY facilitation, Meghalaya is committed to delivering a transparent, efficient, and citizen-centric Public Distribution System.”
