The government has decided to constitute a high-level committee to chalk out plans on what to do with undocumented people after the final list of the NRC is published in Assam, officials said.
The decision to set up the committee, comprising representatives from the Union and Assam governments, was taken at a meeting convened by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday night and was attended by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain among others.
“The high-level committee will see what to do with those people who would be left out from the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC),” a senior official, who attended the meeting, told
As of now, just about six lakh people, out of the total 40 lakh, who were excluded in the draft NRC, have submitted applications for inclusion of their names in the list of Assam’s citizens and have given relevant documents claiming that they are Indian citizens.
The proposed committee will examine all available options which can be worked out with all undocumented people in Assam, the official said. They refused to disclose whether the government will consider granting them work permit.
With just about six lakh people submitting the applications for inclusion in the final NRC, this means 34 lakh people have not yet come forward to claim that they are Indians, probably they may not have proper documents, another official said.
Following a directive of the Supreme Court, the process of filing claims and objections to the draft NRC began on September 25 and it will come to an end on December 15. The apex court has also finalised a set of standard operating procedure (SOP) or disposal of claims and objections in the updating of the NRC.
Lengthy process
The draft NRC was published on July 30 and included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total applications of 3.29 crore. There has been a huge controversy over the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the draft NRC.
Initially, the apex court had allowed the claimants to rely on any of the 10 documents: land documents, permanent residential certificate issued from outside the state, passport, Life Insurance Corporation of India policy, any licence or certificate issued by any government authority, document showing service or employment under the government or public sector undertaking, bank or post office accounts, birth certificates issued by a competent authority, educational certificate issued by boards or universities and records or processes pertaining to court provided they are part of processing in a judicial or revenue court.
On November 1, the court allowed five additional documents to rely upon for inclusion of names in the NRC. The additional papers are: 1951 NRC, electoral roll up to March 24, 1971, citizenship certificate, refugee registration certificate and ration card.
For the claims and objections process, forms are available in 2,500 Seva Kendras in Assam, where people can file their appeal in their respective areas. People can file corrections to their names that are in the draft and also raise objections against suspected foreigners.
The NRC exercise, aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh, was carried out only in Assam, which faced influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century.
When the NRC was first prepared in Assam in 1951, the state had 80 lakh citizens. As per the 2011 census, Assam’s total population is over 3.11 crore. The process of identification of illegal immigrants in Assam has been widely debated and become a contentious issue in the state’s politics.
A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) in 1979. It culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985, in the presence of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.