Assam Mulls DC-Only Aadhaar Approval For Adults To Curb Illegal Immigration

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday (27 June) that the state government is considering giving deputy commissioners the power to authorise adult Aadhaar applications, reported The Times Of India.

The initiative is part of state government's effort to tighten checks to filter illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, moving away from UIDAI-run seva kendras.

Sarma stated, "Tightening of rules for issuance of Aadhaar to adults will make it difficult for illegal Bangladeshi migrants to go through. Without Aadhaar, it will be easier for us to catch and deport them."

“We are pushing 15, 20, 30 people back from Assam every day. But it is not like the police are able to catch all of them (alleged illegal immigrants). Today, we had a discussion in the Cabinet that Aadhaar has been in Assam for many years. There is hardly any need for adults to apply for Aadhaar cards now because most of them have already been issued. Now, only children and newborns have to be given Aadhaar cards. We will discuss further and come up with a law for Assam that if adults seek Aadhaar, only District Commissioners will be able to give it to them; no one else will be able to give. As a result, fresh people coming from Bangladesh will not be able to take them,” he said, Indian Express reported.

If an adult applies for Aadhaar under the new system where DCs will review applications, the presumption will reportedly be that the applicant may be an illegal immigrant seeking a legal identity.

Sarma added, "Last night, we deported 20 more Bangladeshis as part of our ongoing efforts to detect and push back illegal infiltrators. The decision to toughen Aadhaar issuance rules will aid our efforts in this direction."