SHILLONG: A week after the State Cabinet had approved the rules for the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has felt that the rules of the Act still have plenty of loopholes regarding checking and prevention of illegal immigrants from gaining shelter in the state.
Addressing a press conference in the city on Friday while releasing a concept note titled ‘Save Hynniewtrep Mission, the group reiterated that Inner Line Permit (ILP) should be implemented in the state.
Stating that the concept note will distributed to different Hima’s, Dorbar, villages of the state in the coming few days, the group’s general secretary Robert June Kharjahrin said that the Act and rules of the Act totally deviate from each other.
“If anyone challenges the rule of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, it might be declared as null and void as the rule has deviated from the Act.” He said
The group also slammed the State Government over the Act not keeping quiet on penalizing or detaining those people who would enter the state not through the entry and exit points but from different channels.
He also expressed his confidence that even the 13 pressure groups who are demanding proper mechanism to check influx would not accept the rule notified by the government and on the regulation of tenants, he said that the rule does not differentiate who is an indigenous tenant or an immigrant tenant as both have to follow the same procedure. ”If this rule is implemented than even the local indigenous people would be considered as immigrants.” He said.
Pointing out that tenants will have to produce their documents only after staying in the rented house as per the Act, he said , “How will the government check immigration when the person is already a resident and they would later produce their documents.”
