Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswas Sarma has announced that every new applicant for an Aadhaar card in the state will have to compulsorily provide their NRC Application Receipt Number (ARN). The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of Indian citizens containing identity information.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the new requirement is to prevent the ‘influx of foreigners’ into Assam. Sarma also said the Assam government will be ‘very strict’ in issuing Aadhaar cards.
Chief Minister Sarma informed that a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be prepared for this purpose and it will be implemented from October 1.
Himanta Sarma claimed that the number of applications filed for Aadhaar cards in Assam is ‘more than the population’.
“The number of applications for Aadhaar cards is more than the population… this shows that there are doubtful citizens and we have decided that new applicants will have to submit their NRC Application Receipt Number (ARN),” the chief minister said at a press conference.
Sarma also said, “It will not be easy to get Aadhaar in Assam and expected that other states will also be strict in issuing Aadhaar cards.”
Sarma said, “If the applicant has NRC ARN, it becomes clear that he was in the state before 2014.”
The BJP leader said four districts had “received more applications for Aadhaar cards than their total estimated population.”
“These districts are Barpeta (103.74 per cent), Dhubri (103 per cent), and Morigaon and Nagaon (101 per cent),” he said. According to him, the Centre has given the state governments the power to decide whether an Aadhaar card can be issued to a person or not.
The Chief Minister also mentioned increased efforts to identify and deal with illegal immigration.
Exemption from NRC ARN for Aadhaar card in Assam
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma has announced that the requirement to submit NRC ARNs will be waived for 955,000 individuals whose biometrics were locked during the NRC process, to ensure they receive their Aadhaar cards.
The exemption will also be available to residents of tea garden areas, where delays in issuing Aadhaar have been attributed to problems including lack of biometric machines.
Who will get Aadhar card in Assam?
CM Sarma clarified that Aadhaar cards for new applicants in Assam will be issued only after obtaining a no-objection certificate from the district commissioner. This certificate will be given after a thorough review, with the NRC ARN serving as proof of residence in the state before 2014.
