Khasi Hill Autonomous District Council (KHADC) executive member (EM) Paul Lyngdoh favoured Sikkim’s stringent laws that restrict entry of outsiders in the state.
Lyngdoh said this here on Friday while advocating amendments in the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Act.
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The amendment of the Act has made it mandatory for people from outside to register with the government for safety and security.
The KHADC EM said after the release of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, which saw exclusion of over 19 lakhs people from the list, the situation in Meghalaya has become very vulnerable.
Lyngdoh said that on one hand, lakhs of people have been excluded from Assam’s NRC list who will try to illegally enter into the state and on the other hand, the international borders are still porous.
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“At the same time, tribal indigenous communities are still very weak in term of economic strength. This makes us prone to a demographic invasion. Therefore it is an extra ordinary situation that calls for extra ordinary measures,” he said while supporting the Ordinance.
On allegations that the ordinance would affect tourism in the state, Lyngdoh said that other highly developed countries that survived on tourism and states like Sikkim which is also surviving on tourism but their laws especially on entry of outsiders are very stringent.
Lyngdoh also described the provisions in the Ordinance as “water tight” which will help to a great extent if implement in letter and spirit.
On the National Register of Citizen (NRC), Lyngdoh said that the Centre had announced that NRC will be applied all across India, but in the case of Meghalaya, the NRC will come along side with the Ordinance which will be regularized as a Bill.
“It means that we will be well guarded against the possibility of illegal immigration. We need strong laws to deal with these situations,” Lyngdoh said.
Lyngdoh said that the NRC has been introduced since 1951 in Assam where Meghalaya was still part and parcel (of undivided Assam) which is not something new and unprecedented.
He said that Shillong was the capital of Assam and when started afresh (NRC exercise), there should be a base year, that is 1972, the year when Meghalaya was created.
“NRC in Meghalaya should be based on records which are available in 1971 census. There should be some documentary basis for this purpose. That is why 1971 should be logical,” Lyngdoh said.