- Assam has achieved 100% Aadhaar coverage and plans thorough checks before issuing new Aadhaar to adults
- The state recently deported 20 Bangladeshis amid ongoing efforts to identify and remove illegal immigrants
- Assam has adopted a new "pushback strategy" to prevent illegal immigrants from entering
The Assam government is considering empowering only district commissioners (DCs) to issue Aadhaar to adults in a bid to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining the unique biometric identity number.
The state in the northeast bordering Bangladesh has been grappling with the issue of illegal immigrants, especially Bangladeshis, coming in large numbers for decades.
"We decided in the cabinet meeting today to tighten the process of issuing Aadhaar to adults," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said today.
"Many people who come to Assam from Bangladesh are adults. We have already achieved hundred per cent Aadhaar coverage. So if any adult wants Aadhaar, we want to conduct a thorough inquiry first and allow only the DC to issue Aadhaar to them," he added.
"I feel that this process will deter people who come from Bangladesh from getting Aadhaar. And it will be easy to catch them without Aadhaar."
The decision comes a day after the state deported 20 more Bangladeshis as part of the ongoing efforts to identify and send back illegal immigrants.
Earlier this month, 35 Bangladeshis were caught in Katigorah after the crackdown began and all of them were deported. Some 330 illegal immigrants were sent back from Assam last month.
On May 21, several states began the process of identifying Bangladeshis staying illegally, as part of an exercise to deport the immigrants.
In Odisha, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the state government issued directions to all DCs, coastal security agencies and formed a special task force to coordinate the process of identifying undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants.
The Maharashtra government is also conducting a similar exercise. The Mumbai Police had said 300 illegal Bangladeshis have been deported so far in recent times.
India has adopted a new "push back" strategy to tackle infiltration from Bangladesh, Mr Sarma told reporters in early May. Calling cross-border infiltration a "big issue", Mr Sarma said it will be minimised because of the new "pushback" strategy.
"Earlier, we used to arrest 1,000-1,500 foreigners. We used to arrest them, and they would be sent to jails, and then they would be produced before a court of law. Now, we have decided that we will not bring them into our country, and will push them back," he had said.
