Meghalaya to consult all stakeholders on NRC

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday said his government would consult all stakeholders, including political parties, for conducting an exercise for National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state on the lines of Assam.

He said the Centre has mandated the National Population Register (NPR), which envisages a comprehensive electronic database of for all residents of the country as a first step towards NRC.

The NPR database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars, the Chief Minister told the Assembly while replying to a short-duration discussion on the NRC moved by the Opposition.

Noting that NRC exercise is a "huge" and "tedious", Conrad, however said that there is a need to have lots of consultations and discussions with different stakeholders.

"We need to move forward, but we can not do this exercise tomorrow or day after. It requires huge financial requirements, manpower, besides it also requires a lot of strengthening of departments at various levels," said the Chief Minister.

He said the government intended to call an all-party meeting, besides discussions with all stakeholders on the issue after the autumn assembly session.

Informing the members of the Assembly that government's top priority is to protect the citizens of the state, Conrad said, the state government has decided to strengthen the provisions of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016.

--IANS

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