Assam Cabinet approves SOP framing to guide DC, SSP, to expel illegal migrants, immigration

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 10 (ANI): The Assam State Cabinet on Tuesday approved the framing of an SOP under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, to guide the District Commissioners (DC) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) to expel illegal migrants from Assam and tackle the unabated illegal immigration from neighbouring countries.
The decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting held at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
After the cabinet meeting, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The Supreme Court, through the constitutional bench, has clearly indicated that the government of Assam is free to use the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950 to detect and deport foreigners.
Under this act, the Deputy Commissioner is empowered by the central government to evacuate any person who, in the view of the Deputy Commissioner, is considered to be a foreigner.
On Wednesday, the State cabinet came out with a standard operating procedure to implement the act in the letter and spirit. Under the new SOP, the Deputy Commissioner will give 10 days to the suspected person to prove their citizenship. If the deputy commissioner, after a 10-day hearing, concludes that the person is a foreigner, then he will immediately pass an order of evacuation.
The foreigners will be immediately evacuated or will be pushed back from Assam. However, if the Deputy Commissioner is not able to come to a proper conclusion, then the matter will be referred to the Foreigners Tribunal for further hearing.
Under this act, as mandated by the Supreme Court, it will be much easier for the government of Assam to push back foreigners once he is detected and the Deputy Commissioner comes to the conclusion that they are indeed foreign nationals. So this is a landmark decision of the Assam Cabinet. Never before have we attempted this act. Now, as the Supreme Court has clearly mandated, we are going to implement this act..."
If the Deputy Commissioner receives such information from the police or any other source that a person is suspected to be an illegal immigrant, he will direct the person to produce evidence of his citizenship within 10 days. If the DC finds that the evidence submitted by the suspected illegal immigrant is not sufficient or satisfactory to prove his citizenship of India, he will record his opinion in writing identifying the person to be an illegal immigrant, which shall consist of a concise statement of facts and the findings thereof with reasons.
The DC shall pass an expulsion order under Section 2(a) of the Act of 1950 with the direction to remove the illegal immigrant from Assam within 24 hours and by the route so specified by him.
In case of DFNs identified by the FTs, the DC will pass an expulsion order, since in their case, no identification process is necessary, as they may have already exhausted remedies available by approaching the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Once a person is identified as an illegal immigrant and has been ordered to remove themselves, the DC will refer the illegal migrant to the SSP concerned for capturing their biometrics and demographic details on the Foreigners Identification Portal.
If the illegal migrant does not remove himself despite the expulsion order, the DC, as per Section 4 of the Act of 1950, with the assistance of the SSP concerned, shall either keep such illegal immigrant in the Holding Centre or hand him over to the Border Guarding Force nearest to him for expulsion. Illegal immigrants, if detected near the zero line, or within 12 hours from his/her entry in the state, will be pushed back immediately without any further process.
On the other hand, the State Cabinet has accorded the ex post facto approval for financial assistance of Rs. 5 crore, towards "Chief Minister Relief Fund Himachal Pradesh" from Chief Minister's Scheme for Public Emergency, Assam, to alleviate the suffering caused by the monsoon rains in the State of Himachal Pradesh.
The State Cabinet has approved the correction of pay anomaly in respect of 20 physiotherapists, speech therapists, accountants and cashiers of Jorhat Medical College and Hospital under the Directorate of Medical Education, Assam and Model Hospitals under the Directorate of Health Services of Assam to fix benefits like other direct entry pay scales.
The State Cabinet has approved the amendment of the Assam Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (AAPLM Act, 2020) on the lines of Model Act, 2017 circulated by Govt. of India, to align it with the evolving aspects of the state's agricultural marketing system, and enhance market access for small and marginal farmers, ensuring transparent and competitive bidding for better price realization.
The State Cabinet has also approved to provide a scooty to 11250 meritorious students who secured 80 per cent or above marks in the Higher Secondary (Class 12) examination under the Dr Banikanta Kakati Merit Award. (ANI)