SHILLONG: The government on Monday asked the administration in districts sharing borders with Assam to remain alert as the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) list was published.
Talking to media persons here, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the instruction was issued to keep a check on illegal immigration from Assam.
“We need to remain alert since there are possibilities that those who have been left out of the final draft list might try to enter Meghalaya,” he said and added that all the deputy commissioners would give “necessary instructions” up to the village level to remain vigil.
When asked whether the government was contemplating introducing NRC in Meghalaya, Tynsong said the government is not looking to replicate the policy adopted by Assam.
But he said the government was on the job to complete the entry and exit points as part of the comprehensive mechanism to curb influx of illegal immigrants.
“We have also identified areas to set up of the entry and exit points across the state. A similar infrastructure will be set up even at railway stations once the railway line comes up in the state,” Tynsong said but pointed out that there was hurdle in Ri Bhoi as land owners were unwilling to part with their land.
“The new deputy commissioner is on the job to identify land… The land to be acquired will be near Byrnihat. In the first phase, over 22 exit and entry points will be set up across the state,” he added.
The mechanism that the government intends to introduce is to replicate the system in Sikkim.
Earlier, the Khasi Student’s Union (KSU) had urged the NPP-led government and the indigenous people of the state to be alert against possible influx of illegal immigrants from Assam after the final draft NRC was published.
The KHADC will also take steps to check migration into the state.
HS Shylla, the council’s chief executive member, said on Monday the KHADC would take action against headmen who issue rampant certificates to non-tribals.
“The district council will check the RS who issue rampant certificates as illegal migrants will arrive in the state. We got information that they have started selling certificates and once we find out headmen who indulge in such activities will lose their position,” Shylla said. In this connection, he said the passing of the lineage bill “is timely”.
