No Aadhaar for non-NRC applicants in Assam: Himanta Sarma
The Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has announced a new policy making Aadhaar card applications dependent on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. As per the rule, applicants would have to have applied for inclusion in the NRC to be eligible for an Aadhaar card. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to implement this rule has been approved by the state Cabinet.
New rule aims to address infiltration concerns
CM Sarma clarified that the initiative is aimed at easing fears of infiltration from Bangladesh. He noted that "scores of infiltrators have been apprehended by Assam Police, Tripura Police and BSF in the last two months," emphasizing the need for stricter Aadhaar issuance procedures. The General Administration Department will serve as the nodal agency for Aadhaar applications, focusing on whether applicants or their families applied for NRC in 2015, Sarma said.
Verification process and exceptions to the new rule
If no NRC application was made, the Aadhaar request will be denied and a report sent to the Centre. For those with an NRC application, local Circle Officers (CO) will conduct field-level verification as per Supreme Court directives. Aadhaar cards will only be approved after thorough verification. This directive doesn't apply to central government employees working outside Assam who didn't apply for the NRC.
Final NRC list and new SOP requirements
The final NRC list released on August 31, 2019, had included 3,11,21,004 names out of 3,30,27,661 applicants and excluded 19,06,657 people. However, it has not been notified by the Registrar General of India yet. Under the new SOP, documents submitted for Aadhaar verification will now have to be returned to UIDAI within 45 days.
