Foreigners Act should deter illegal influx, says Sangma

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Thursday said that the Foreigners Act should be aggressively enforced to prevent infiltration of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

"Meghalaya shares border with surrounding states, which are perceived to have lot of illegal infiltration. Moreover, the state shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, so the Foreigner's Act must be aggressively enforced," Sangma told journalists after chairing a high level meeting on influx.

The meeting came after the powerful Khasi Students' Union (KSU) asked the state government not to go ahead with the National Population Register (NPR) biometric enrolment, and the implementation of the Aadhaar scheme in the state as it first requires stronger mechanisms to check influx.

Stating that several people who come into the state have doubtful credentials, Sangma said: "The credentials and the antecedents of all those who seek rent would be verified once this new act is implemented."

He said his government is examining various existing laws related to labour to tackle the burgeoning influx, and a new tenancy act, to be drafted by a team led by Chief Secretary W.M.S. Pariat, would be implemented in the state.

Sangma also said the state was also examining some laws passed by parliament so that they can be implemented here without conflicting with existing laws to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants.

However, he did not give a direct answer to queries whether the government will put on hold the National Population Register (NPR) biometric enrolment.

The NPR biometric enrolment will lead to the implementation of the Unique Identification number (UID) in the state, and each individual will be provided with the UID number or Aadhaar, a 12-digit ID number.

"Our demand from the state government is to stop this biometric enrollment and implementation of Aadhaar. Amidst our focus on the need to have strong mechanisms to check influx, this enrolment will defeat the purpose of checking the menace of influx in the state," Khasi Students Union supremo Daniel Khyriem told IANS.

He contended that the NPR biometric enrolment or implementation of Aadhaar will only facilitate "outsiders" to strengthen their claim of being genuine residents of Meghalaya.

The NPR biometric enrolment in the state commenced on June 21 from Raj Bhavan where Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary was the first in the state to have completed the process.