Assam cabinet decides to introduce stricter checks for Aadhaar: Himanta Sarma
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the regulation won’t apply to people from other states residing in Assam in connection with their work
GUWAHATI: The Assam cabinet on Wednesday decided to strengthen the verification process for Aadhaar cards and approve applications filed by people who have applied for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens.
“If someone or their parents had not applied for inclusion in NRC, their Aadhaar applications would be rejected. For those applicants who are found to have applied for inclusion in NRC there would be a field verification of their antecedents before an Aadhaar card is provided to them,” chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Wednesday after a meeting of the state cabinet.
Sarma first announced the proposed change in September this year.
After the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he said,’ “For the past two months, many Bangladeshi nationals (who illegally entered India) have been nabbed by Border Security Force (BSF) and police…. These infiltrators have become a matter of concern and hence we have decided to take more steps to stop the trend”.
“In line with that, the state cabinet today decided to make the state-level verification process for (fresh) Aadhar card applicants stricter. From now the general administration department will be the nodal agency for state-level verification,” he added.
The chief minister said in each district, an additional deputy commissioner will oversee the verification process. Circle officers will be responsible for checking whether fresh Aadhar applicants or their immediate relatives have applied for inclusion in NRC.
Sarma said that the regulation won’t apply to people from other states who are residing in Assam in connection with their work. But physical verification of their documents would be conducted.
“With these measures, we will be able to strengthen the Aadhar card delivery process and also ensure that no person whose citizenship is under doubt can get the important identity document easily,” he said.
The final draft of NRC for Assam, released in August 2019, left out 1.9 million of the total 33 million applicants. The Registrar General of India (RGI) is yet to notify the updated NRC and the number of petitions opposing the draft or seeking its review are pending at present in Supreme Court.
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