Publication of Draft NRC on December 31

GUWAHATI, Sept 4: Putting all speculations to rest, Dispur, has at long last, informed the State Assembly that the draft of the NRC being updated in the State will be published on December 31 this year. Dispur has also let the House know that 61.49 km of the India-Bangladesh border in the Assam sector is still to be fenced.

Replying to a question from AGP MLA Ramendra rayan Kalita, State Water Resource Minister Keshab Mahanta informed the Assembly on behalf of the Assam Accord Implementation Minister: “As many as 86,489 foreigners were detected in Assam by different Foreigner Tribuls of the State. While 29,734 of them have been expelled, 833 have been in detention camps and as many as 41,033 detected foreigners have done the vanishing act.”

Givign details of the NRC update process currently underway in the State, Mahanta said: “As much as 96.08 per cent of document verification has been over. Now family trees are being examined. The draft NRC will certainly be published by December 31, 2017. It will be followed by receiving claims and objections. As of now, the Government of India has relased Rs 782.73 crore for NRC update work in the State, and Rs 740.18 crore of the amount has been spent.”

Replying to another question from Congress MLA Kamalakshya Dey Purkayastha, Mahanta said: “Border fencing work that was resumed this year by tiol Building Construction Corporation (NDCC) in the Karimganj sector of the India-Bangladesh border has to be put on hold due to opposition from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).”

On fencing along the India-Bangladesh border in Assam sector, Mahanta said: “As much as 76.62 per cent (201.51 km) of the 263-km intertiol border in Assam sector has been sealed with physical barrier and the remaining 61.49 km is still to be fenced. While 13.38 km of the unfenced border is to be fenced with physical barriers, the remaining 48.11 km riverine border is to be sealed with non-physical barrier. The matter is being thought of.”