Assam to appoint 1,600 employees for Foreigners' Tribunals

The Assam government is planning to appoint about 1,600 contractual employees to man the 200 new Foreigners' Tribunals, which have been set up recently in the state.

A senior Home department official said this on Monday, adding that about 400 Home Guards will also be appointed at the Tribunals so that they can function smoothly. The Assam government had recently appointed 221 members to the newly set up Foreigners' Tribunals for handling the cases of about 1.9 million people who were excluded from the NRC.

The Assam government had on August 31 published the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) that has left 19, 06,657 people out of the list.

Once these excluded people receive the certified copy of their rejection from the NRC authorities, they have to approach the Foreigners' Tribunals within 120 days to prove their Indian citizenship.

"The process is likely to start from November this year. If the persons declared ineligible for inclusion in the final NRC do not make any appeal, the district administration is authorized to refer their names to the Foreigners' Tribunals," said the officer.

With the government establishing 200 new tribunals, there are now 300 Foreigners Tribunals in the state and the government is likely to set up more such tribunals so that the cases of alleged foreigners can be taken up fast.IANS