A senior official of Kamrup (Metro) district administration revealed that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) verification process is going on a war footing but there are many family trees that are yet to be verified.
NRC state coordinator, Prateek Hajela said, “2,600 proceedings are yet to be addressed in Guwahati.” He further said that 98% of family tree verification has been completed through entire Assam.
From 2nd April (Monday), the verification for applicants who submitted gram panchayat certificates will also start. In Guwahati there are “less” number of such applicants, claimed Hajela.
11.49 lakh applicants had applied for National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Guwahati and around 70% were listed in the first draft list which came out on 1st January 2018, a senior official of district administration said.
There are many documents which have not been verified by offices located outside the state. There are also offices in Guwahati which are yet to verify all the certificates that have been sent to them for verification.
During family tree verification proceedings, in some cases, more than one family member is required to prove their linkage. It is a hassle for many as people have even had to come from outside the state for the proceedings.
Hajela said, “Only one person from the family can be present for the proceedings and provide the linkages.”
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to extend the May 31 deadline for the ongoing process of publishing the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
On enquiring when the second draft will be published, Hajela said, “I cannot give any date but it will be completed soon.”
Around 3000 govt officials involved in NRC work
Around 3,000 government officials are involved in National Register of Citizens (NRC) verification process in Guwahati.
State NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela said, “None of the officials involved in NRC work will participate in the local body polls.”
The panchayat elections are slated to be held in April and there are 21 villages and 5 Zila Parishads under Kamrup (Metro) district administration.
One officer of the rank of additional deputy commissioner will be allotted for the elections, said a senior official of Kamrup (Metro).
11 ACS officers from the district administration are heading around 238 teams. A district administration source said that 238 teams comprising 1,033 additional personnel from various government offices have been taken for the NRC work. 104 government officials have been kept on stand-by and used whenever required. The teams, after verification proceedings, report to the ACS officers at the NRC Seva Kendras in the evening.
Along with the fourth grade employees there are around “3,000 government officials involved in NRC verification process,” said the official from Kamrup (Metro).
The Supreme Court rejected a plea by the Assam state election commission to divert local staff engaged in upgrading the National Register for Citizens (NRC) to poll duties associated with impending panchayat elections.