SHILLONG: The state government has prepared the draft of the amended Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act.
An official with the political department said on Friday that the draft will be taken up by the state cabinet for discussion.
However, the official said several clauses of the amended Act will have to be examined properly before the cabinet adopts the Act as it should not come into conflict with central laws.
Since the Act is related to the safety of the residents, the government will have to define who is a resident of Meghalaya.
Besides, the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016 did not elaborate on the nature of restrictions to the visitors to the state.
The political department had entrusted the Law department to frame the amended Security Act.
However, the official did not reveal the content of the draft.
There was demand from pressure groups to implement ILP but the state government has insisted that more teeth will be given to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act by amending it.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the amended Act will serve the purpose of addressing the issue of influx and he had also hinted that the amended Act will be perhaps more potent than ILP.
Recently, the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) had resorted to Black Flag Day protest demanding the implementation of ILP.
CoMSO is in favour of incorporating four provisions of ILP in the amended Act.
The four provisions are that no one is allowed to enter or settle in the state without the permission of the state and the person/persons will have to inform about the number of days of stay.
According to the pressure group, there should be penal clause to punish any person who enters the state illegally and lastly, the visitors should not be allowed to stay beyond 179 days.
