State mulls post-entry check to curb infiltration

SHILLONG: The state government is looking at the possibility of putting in place a mechanism to also check credentials of outsiders after they have entered the state when it amends the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act to address the issue of influx.
An official source said the government is looking at such a measure with the participation of the headmen, district administration and police to effectively check influx.
This will be supplementary to the existing mechanism of hotels, guest houses and others informing the nearby police stations about the names and other details of the visitors and guests.
While the government has already started its exercise to have several entry-exit points along the border, it is also studying how effective they will be to control the flow of illegal migrants.
According to a government source, checking influx in the inter-state borders will be a massive exercise since the border is porous and manpower is less.
While amending the Residents Act, the government is planning to have a mechanism whereby the visitors will be checked after entering the state about the number of days they will stay and other details.
The state government believes that harassment of genuine Indian citizens entering the state can be avoided if the internal mechanism is adopted rather than posting personnel at the border.
There are demands from the pressure groups either to strictly implement Inner Line Permit or strengthen the Residents Act by incorporating ILP like mechanism in the Act.
After demands from various quarters for Inner Line Permit (ILP) ahead of the 2013 Assembly polls, the Congress-led government had offered the mechanism of entry-exit point to be implemented along with Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016.