The Assam government has decided to link Aadhaar card applications with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to tackle infiltration issues. Now, people applying for Aadhaar must have applied for the NRC. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced it in a press conference.

Aadhaar applications to be verified through NRC

The state government has decided that applications for Aadhaar cards will be rejected if the applicant or their family did not apply for inclusion in the NRC. This step comes amid growing concerns over infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh.

“Scores of infiltrators have been nabbed by Assam Police, Tripura Police, and BSF in the last two months. That is why infiltration from Bangladesh is a concern for us. We need to strengthen our system, and that is why we decided to toughen the Aadhaar Card mechanism,” Chief Minister Sarma said.

In the new system, the General Administration Department will handle Aadhaar verification. In each district, an additional district commissioner will supervise the process. After someone applies for Aadhaar, the UIDAI will send the application to the state government for verification.

The local Circle Officer (CO) will then verify whether the applicant or their family applied for inclusion in the NRC. If no application for NRC is found, the Aadhaar request will be rejected immediately, and a report will be sent to the central government.

“If it is found that there was an application for NRC, the CO will go for field-level verification as per Supreme Court directives. After the officer is fully convinced, the Aadhaar will be approved,” Sarma explained.

Central government employees stationed outside Assam and those who did not apply for NRC will be exempted from this directive. "In this way, we will enforce a strict mechanism to strengthen our Aadhaar issuance system so that no doubtful people can get this identity card," he added.

The state government will also return verified documents to UIDAI online within 45 days under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Cabinet approves changes in land revenue and mission Basundhara 3.0

The Assam Cabinet also made changes to land revenue collection and the Mission Basundhara 3.0 scheme to ease difficulties faced by citizens.

In response to challenges faced by small landholders, the state has reintroduced the manual system of land revenue payments alongside the digital mode. “We had made all land payments digital last year. However, farmers and many poor landowners faced difficulties in paying taxes online. So, the manual system will continue along with the digital mode,” the Chief Minister stated.

The Assam Cabinet has removed renewal fees under the Societies Registration Act to make it easier for social institutions to apply for land under Mission Basundhara 3.0. This includes places of worship, clubs, and other community centers. They also removed the need for a chartered accountant's audit certificate for the last three years in these applications.

Launched earlier this year, Mission Basundhara 3.0 aims to simplify land ownership rights for indigenous communities and social organisations.

Background on NRC and Aadhaar integration

The final NRC list, published on August 31, 2019, included 3.11 crore names out of 3.30 crore applicants, leaving out 19.06 lakh people. With this new Aadhaar verification mechanism, the state government seeks to prevent illegal infiltrators from accessing Aadhaar and ensure stricter identification processes.