All cases of illegal immigrants must be promptly documented, Himanta Biswa Sarma said. (File)
Guwahati:
All new Aadhaar card applicants in Assam must submit their NRC Application Receipt Number (ARN), Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
A detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) will be prepared for this purpose and will be implemented from October 1, he said.
Submission of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) application receipt number will stop the “influx of illegal foreigners” and the state government will be “very strict” in issuing Aadhaar cards, he said.
“The applications for Aadhaar cards are more than the population… This indicates that there are doubtful citizens and we have decided that new applicants will have to submit their NRC Application Receipt Number (ARN),” the chief minister said at a press conference here.
He also said, “It will not be easy to get Aadhaar in Assam and I hope other states will also be strict in issuing Aadhaar cards.” The NRA’s submission will not apply to the 9.55 lakh people whose biometric data was locked during the NRC process, and they will get their cards, Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
This will also not be applicable in tea plantation areas as many have not obtained their Aadhaar cards due to some practical difficulties like unavailability of proper biometric machines, the CM said.
Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out that four districts have reported “more applications for Aadhaar cards than their total expected population”.
“These districts are Barpeta with 103.74 per cent, Dhubri with 103 per cent, and Morigaon and Nagaon with 101 per cent,” he said.
According to him, the Centre has given the power to state governments to decide whether an Aadhaar card can be issued to an individual or not.
“In Assam, we have decided that Aadhaar cards will be issued to new applicants only after a no-objection certificate is issued by the district commissioner concerned. These certificates will be issued after a thorough examination of all aspects. If the applicant has the ARN NRC, it becomes clear that he was in the state before 2014,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The chief minister said his government would “intensify the process of identifying illegal foreigners as several Bangladeshis have been apprehended in the last two months and handed over to the authorities of the neighbouring country”.
Recent reports indicate an “increase in the number of illegal immigrants detected, requiring intensified efforts across the state to proactively curb the movement of illegal migrants while taking steps to repatriate these individuals,” he said.
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that border surveillance and patrolling will be enhanced in areas under the jurisdiction of border outposts to detect and prevent illegal border crossings.
Enhanced coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and other central agencies will be established to facilitate transparent information sharing and joint operations for enhanced border security, he said.
Intelligence gathering mechanisms, focusing on cross-border networks and infiltration routes, will be strengthened, as well as community awareness programmes in border areas, he said.
Himanta Biswa Sarma said residents of border areas will be encouraged to report suspicious movements or new settlers, which will help in early detection of possible illegal immigrants.
All cases of illegal immigrants should be promptly documented and forwarded to foreigners’ courts for adjudication, while periodic verification of records should be carried out to prevent them from escaping detection, the chief minister said.
The government officials at village or field level will be activated to collect information about new and unknown persons and on receipt of such information, a count of suspected illegal immigrants shall be carried out in consultation with Assam Police (HQ), district administration and district police, he said.
Sustained efforts will be made to locate and apprehend those absconding after being declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals, the Chief Minister said.
After identifying the suspected individuals or families, their biometric data will be collected and if such individuals have Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID card or passport, their numbers should be recorded for future reference, Sarma added.
From January 2024 till date, 54 illegal immigrants have been detected – 48 in Karimganj, 4 in Bongaigaon and one each in Haflong GRP and Dhubri district.
Of them, 45 were handed over to their native countries, while nine were arrested in Karimganj.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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