Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The state cabinet decided to adopt stricter verifications for the issuance of Aadhaar cards from today, with a three-layer process. The decision was taken to deny Aadhaar cards to citizens of doubtful nationalities.
A few days ago, Assam police, Tripura police, and BSF arrested some Bangladeshi citizens who had Aadhaar cards generated in Assam.
Speaking to the media after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Bangladeshi nationals getting Indian Aadhaar cards is a real cause of concern for us. The Assam Police mans the India-Bangladesh border as the second line of defence, in coordination with the BSF. We want to make the border vigil stronger in cooperation with the BSF. We also want to make the verification process for the issuance of Aadhaar cards stricter so as not to allow Bangladeshis entering Assam with Aadhaar cards generated in Assam. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the authority that issues Aadhaar cards. However, UDAI refers Aadhaar applications to the respective state governments for their verification. From now on, the GAD (General Administration Department) will be the nodal department for the verification of Aadhaar applicants’ details. The district commissioners, on the other hand, will designate ADCs (Additional District Commissioners) to monitor the Aadhaar applicants’ verification. After the GAD and ADCs, revenue circle officers will be entrusted to conduct the physical verification of the applicants on the ground. The circle officers will have to verify whether Aadhaar applicants or their parents applied during the process of the NRC (National Register of Citizens) update. If they did not apply for inclusion of names in the NRC, the circle officers will recommend rejection of Aadhaar cards to the applicants. For applicants who applied for inclusion of their names into the NRC, the circle officers will have to conduct physical verification of the applicants. If circle officers find applicants to be Indians, they will recommend the issuance of Aadhaar cards. This NRC-related verification process is not applicable for central government employees working in Assam. The Cabinet approved a new SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for the verification of Aadhaar applicants.”
On the payment of land tax (khajana), the Chief Minister said, “We decided on digital payment of land tax last year. That decision benefits Assam landholders staying outside the state. They pay land tax on e-mode. However, digital payment of land tax is a hurdle for marginal farmers, middle-class people, and others. This is because, for making a digital payment, a person has to register in a specific portal. From now onwards, along with digital payment, landholders will be at liberty to pay land tax in cash to the offices of mouzadars.”
On Mission Basundhara 3.0, the Chief Minister said, “One of the services of Mission Basundhara 3.0 is to provide land to naamghars, mandirs, schools, clubs, and other social institutions, etc. However, most of such organisations cannot fulfil the criterion of registration under the Society Act for which they have to submit audit reports for three years. The cabinet has approved registration of such institutions under the Act without audit reports for three years. Some other registered organisations have not renewed their registrations. In such cases, the government has exempted the hefty fines that such organisations have to pay for the renewal of their registrations. This move is to allow them to apply for Mission Basundhara 3.0.”
The Chief Minister said that he would visit Bhutan for three days, from December 16-18, to attend the Bhutan National Day on December 17. “I will talk with the Bhutanese government on irrigation, drinking water, and getting power from the Himalayan kingdom,” he said.
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