Blitz Bureau
GUWAHATI: The Assam Government has tightened the grip on illegal foreigners as several Bangladeshis were apprehended in the last two months and handed over them to the authorities of the neighbouring country.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on September 7 said all new applicants for Aadhaar cards in Assam need to submit their NRC application receipt number (ARN).
‘Applications for Aadhaar cards are more than the population…It 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.
This will “stop the influx of illegal foreigners” and the state government will be ‘very strict” in issuing Aadhaar cards, he said.
“It will not be easy to get Aadhaar in Assam,” Sarma said.
Submission of the NRC application receipt number will not be applicable for the 9.55 lakh people whose biometrics were locked during the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, and they will get their cards, he added.
Sarma also said his government will “intensify the process of identification of illegal foreigners as several Bangladeshis were apprehended in the last two months and handed over to the authorities of the neighbouring country.
He said the Centre has given the right to the state governments to decide on 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 given by the district commissioner concerned. Such certificates will be issused after minutely examining all aspects. If the applicant has the NRC ARN, it becomes clear that he was in the state before 2014,” Sarma said.
Recent reports indicate an “increase in the number of illegal immigrants being detected, necessitating intensified efforts across the state to proactively curb the movement of illegal migrants while also taking steps to repatriate these individuals”, he pointed out.
Sarma said border surveillance and patrolling will be strengthened in areas under the jurisdiction of border outposts to detect and prevent illegal border crossings.
Stronger BSF and central agencies coordination will be established for enhanced border security, he said.
