Govt. vetoes immigrant verifications by Civil Society

Dimapur, September 8 (MExN): The Government of Nagaland has issued a notice today cautioning civil society including students’ organizations that independent ‘non-local registration drives and issuing identity cards by realizing certain fees’ encroaches into the legal jurisdiction of district administrations and the police.
Appended by Chief Secretary of Nagaland Lalthara, the government’s notice said only the district magistrates/deputy commissioners are empowered to issue Inner Line Permits to non-locals for entry into the Inner Line Areas and to regulate their entry and exit under the provisions of Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873.
“Instances have come to the notice of the government whereby, NGOs/civil societies/students’ unions are independently carrying out non-local registration drives and issuing identity cards by realizing certain fees. In some other cases, such organizations have sought the cooperation of the district administration for carrying out such drives. These amounts to a parallel/ duplicate process of regulating the presence of non-locals in the districts. Such verification drives have no legal basis,” the government said.
The government stated that the district magistrates and deputy commissioners are empowered to issue Inner Line Permits to non-locals for entry into the Inner Line Areas and to regulate their entry and exit under the provisions of Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873.
“While the NGOs, civil societies, students’ unions may want to carry out such drives with the best of intentions, the activity encroaches in the legal jurisdiction of district administration and police. It would be detrimental to good governance if they are allowed to function in areas that are purely within the ambit and scope of legally established authorities,” the government said
Stating these points, the government has ordered that the district administration and police should carry out verification drives at regular intervals so that defaulters could be identified and prosecuted as per law.
“Whenever such verification drives are conduced by the district administration and police, local NGOs, civil societies, students’ unions may be invited to associate themselves with the exercise, if they evince interest,” the notice added.



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