STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: After the Supreme Court of India has ordered the inter-cadre transfer of State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela to Madhya Pradesh on deputation, Dispur seems to be in crisis of an officer to whom Hajela can pass the torch. The State National Register of Citizens Coordinator is a commissioner-level post that cannot be kept vacant for long.
Even as a section of people demanded the State government to challenge the order of SC, it cannot be challenged as the order has come from a three-judge bench, which is considered a full bench.
For obvious reasons, most of the commissioner-level officers are a bundle of nerves when it comes to taking the charge of NRC Coordinator.
A top-level officer said, “NRC Coordinator’s isn’t a general post. He doesn’t have much to do with the general administration. One who takes this post needs to be well acquainted with the NRC update exercise, and that’s time-taking.”
The NRC update exercise is far from being over. A few exercises like sending rejection letters to the around 19 lakh applicants declared ineligible for inclusion in the final NRC, releasing the officials engaged in NRC duty, doing justice to those who opted not to apply for National Register of Citizens update, and giving a logical end to the entire NRC update exercise are crucial ones. This is not all. A few organizations have also raised questions over the Rs 1,600 crore spent in NRC update. Maybe, most of the commissioner-level officers not being willing to take the charge of such a vexed job because of the cumulative effects of all these.
The BJP has already made it clear that it is not going to accept the updated National Register of Citizens. The party is trying its best to introduce the CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) in Parliament in November. The FTs (foreigners tribunals) have not yet started hearings of people whose names have not been included in the final NRC. The BJP-led government may adopt a tactic till the passage of the CAB in Parliament. A top-level official said, “The NRC shouldn’t be rejected outright. It may have lacunae. Taking this National Register of Citizens as the base, we can take further measures in the greater interest of the State.”