NEW DELHI, Feb 5 - The Centre on Wednesday said the district magistrate on their own may refer to the foreigners tribunal (FT) for its opinion the question as to whether the person left out of the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) in Assam is a foreigner or not within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946, in case no complaint is referred.
Under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 any person, not satisfied with the outcome of the decisions on claims and objections during the process of preparation of the final NRIC in Assam, may prefer appeal before the designated tribunal, within a period of 120 days from the date of such order.
Replying to a Rajya Sabha question, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that on the disposal of appeal by the tribunal, the names shall be included or deleted, as the case may be, in the NRIC in Assam.
Rai clarified that parts of six central jails in Assam have been declared as detention centres and they are Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Jorhat; Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Tezpur; Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Silchar; Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Dibrugarh; Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Kokrajhar; and Central Jail-cum-Detention Centre, Goalpara. However, the total capacity of the detention centres is not available.
One more detention centre is under construction at Matia, Goalpara with an approximate capacity of 3,000 inmates, the minister said.
Congress Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora asked whether a large number of suicides have been registered in the NRC detention camps in the northeastern states, especially in Assam, in the last six months. In reply, the minister said according to information received from the Government of Assam, there is no NRC detention camp in Assam. �Therefore, the issue of suicides does not arise,� he added.
In reply to a separate question on the total number of refugees belonging to Hindu, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian and Sikh religions from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh currently residing in the country, the minister said India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon.
�All foreign nationals, including refuge-seekers are governed by the provisions contained in the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Citizenship Act, 1955. Data relating to foreign nationals claiming to be refugees and residing in India is not maintained centrally,� the minister said.
On whether there has been an increase in the number of illegal immigrants, including Bangladeshi and Nepali nationals, in the country, Rai said that illegal immigrants enter the country without valid travel documents in a clandestine and surreptitious manner. �Detection, detention and deportation of such illegally staying foreign nationals, including Bangladeshi nationals, is an ongoing process. Since entry of such foreign nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to collect accurate data of such Bangladeshi nationals living in various parts of the country,� he said.
As per limited data available, the number of Bangladeshi nationals, who have overstayed in the country beyond the period of their visa validity after entering India legally during the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, is 25,942, 49,645 and 35,055 respectively.
In July, 1950, the Government of India and the Government of Nepal have agreed to grant on reciprocal basis to the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of similar nature. In view thereof, a citizen of Nepal entering India by land or air over the Indo-Nepal border is exempted from the provision of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the rules made thereunder and therefore, they do not require passport or visa for entry into India.
