The Assam government has exceeded the 45-day deadline set by the Gauhati High Court for completion of the construction work of a transit camp for the declared foreigners in the Goalpara district.
A media report quoted Assam’s home department officials as saying that the transit camp, which was earlier called as detention centre at Matia in Goalpara district was almost complete.
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It has been reported that the transit camp, covering 25 acres of land, is being constructed at a cost of Rs 64 crore.
The transit camp will be able to accommodate around 3,000 inmates.
There will also be a school and a hospital in the exclusive transit camp.
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The report quoted a home department official as saying that the Assam government has sought some more time to complete the remaining portion of work of the transit camp and the necessary formalities.
He said the works are going on in a war footing manner.
On August 11, the Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to complete the construction of the transit camp in Goalpara within 45 days.
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“…The State envisaged that the construction of detention centre at Matia, Goalpara would be completed by September 2021… the learned Advocate General has prayed for allowing six weeks’ time to complete the construction of the proposed detention centre and to shift the detenues of the various detention centres…” observed Justice Kalyan Rai Surana in August while hearing a petition,
The home and political department of the Assam government issued a notification in August in partial modification of a June 2009 notification changing the nomenclature of the detention centre to ‘transit camp’ for detention purposes, the report said.
In 2014, the Central government asked the Assam government to set up at least one exclusive detention centre for ‘illegal immigrants’ without keeping them in the existing jails where prisoners and undertrials are staying due to various crimes.