Aizawl: The Central Government has returned the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Register Bill, 2019, stating that the proposed legislation exceeded the constitutional jurisdiction of the state legislature, Chief Minister Lalduhoma informed the state Assembly on Wednesday.
The bill, which seeks to distinguish between foreigners and genuine residents of the state, was passed by the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) administration in March 2019.
In a written reply to a question from opposition Congress member C. Ngunlianchunga, Lalduhoma, who holds the General Administration portfolio, said that the bill has now been formally withdrawn from the Union’s consideration after years of procedural deadlock.
He said that the bill was passed by the state legislature on March 18, 2019, and its primary objective was to identify “genuine residents” and weed out illegal immigrants in Mizoram, which shares international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The bill drew national attention due to its similarities to a localized National Register of Citizens (NRC) and immediately encountered a roadblock.
Following its passage, the Governor withheld assent and referred it to the President of India under Article 200 of the Constitution on September 12, 2019, for final approval, according to the Chief Minister.
He said that the state government engaged in persistent dialogue with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and four separate Demi-Official (DO) letters were sent to the Union Home Minister to ensure that the bill received assent quickly.
“The Central Government stated that this bill exceeded the jurisdiction of the state legislature and advised that it be reviewed; subsequently, the bill was withdrawn from the Central Government,” Lalduhoma said.
To ensure that the new legislation remains within the constitutional bounds of state authority, the state government constituted the “Drafting Committee for the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2026” on February 25 this year, he said.
The new committee is tasked with rectifying the legal infirmities of the 2019 version, the Chief Minister added.