Assam to tighten Aadhaar rules to curb illegal immigrants: CM Sarma
Guwahati: To bar illegal immigrants from acquiring Aadhaar cards, the BJP led government in Assam is planning to make the rules for issuing Adhar cards and birth and death registration stricter. Aadhaar cards to adults (above 18 years) will now be issued by Deputy Commissioner only.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while talking in Guwahati, 'Very soon, we will implement a decision where Aadhar cards to adult citizens will be issued only by DCs. This will ensure that no illegal immigrant can get an Aadhar made, and we can track and push them back easily.'
He added, 'Last night we pushed back 20 more Bangladeshis as part of our ongoing efforts to detect and push back illegal infiltrators. The decision to toughen Aadhaar issuance rules will only aid our efforts in this direction'.
Sarma said that the government is contemplating to make the rules regarding issuance of Aadhar card stricter to ensure that only genuine citizens can acquire the vital document, categorized as national identity card. 'We have discussed the issue of making the rules for Aadhaar card stricter in today's cabinet. We are going to discuss it further in the next cabinet.'
'In Assam, we are going to stop issuing Aadhaar cards for the adults (Those above 18 years) now. It has been two years, and we have given Aadhaar cards to the adults already. Now the government will continue issuing Aadhaar cards to the newborns and children only. In case of adults who are yet to get an Aadhaar card, he or she must approach the District Commissioner, who will have the authority to issue the Adhar card to the adult population,' Sarma said.
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'Considering the issue of illegal foreigners in the state, we have decided to make the rules for Aadhaar cards stricter. As we are going to stop issuing Aadhaar cards to adults, no foreigners who enter the state afresh, would not be able to get an Aadhaar card,' he said.
'Similarly, we are also going to make the rules for birth and death registration stricter. Earlier, people used to get a birth certificate, years after his birth also. We are going to make the rules stricter so that birth certificates are issued to genuine cases only. Here also the District Commissioners will be empowered to take a decision in terms of exceptional cases,' he added.
Last year Assam government has observed that at least four districts of Assam having Aadhaar enrolment more than the population.
Sarma had said in at least four districts, the number of Aadhaar cardholders has surpassed the population. "In Barpeta, 103.74% of the population have Aadhaar cards, in Dhubri 103.48%, in Morigaon 101.76%, and in Nagaon about 100.86% have obtained Aadhaar cards. This raises concerns, as it suggests that suspected foreign nationals may have managed to procure the cards."
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