Meghalaya to amend State Residents Safety & Security Act: CoSHO

Shillong, Feb 7 (IANS) To protect the rights of indigenous communities, the Confederation of Hynniewtrep Social Organisations (CoHSO) on Thursday said the Meghalaya government has promised to an amendment to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016 by incorporating provisions of British-era inner line permit (ILP) system.

"Deputy Chief Minister (Prestone Tynsong) has assured that the political and law departments will ensure that amendments to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016 incorporate ILP provisions into the Act," CoHSO chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin told journalists.

Members of the CoHSO, a conglomeration of 14 organisations, met Tynsong and reiterated the demand for implementation of ILP to tackle the influx problem.

The ILP is an official travel document issued by the Union government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. It is obligatory for residents of other states to obtain the permit for entering into the restricted areas.

During the meeting, CoSHO urged the government to incorporate four provisions of the ILP to ensure that no Indian citizen or foreigner enter and settle without permission, penalise outsiders for illegally settling in the state, the stay of an outsider in the state not exceed 179 days and a also prevention of sale of indigenous tribal land to an outsider.

Kharjahrin said CoHSO was against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.

The Lok Sabha has passed the Bill that seeks to remove hurdles in the case of migrants from six minority groups from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan in getting the Indian citizenship despite opposition by political parties, including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress.