The Tripura government has formed a six-member state-level empowered committee, chaired by the Director of Census Operations, to grant citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, an official announced on Friday.
Enacted in December 2019, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act grants Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
"Following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state-level empowered committee for granting Indian citizenship under the CAA has been formed," Director, Census Operations, Rabindra Reang told PTI.
He stated that all District Magistrates in the state have been instructed to form district-level empowered committees to receive and scrutinize applications under the CAA before forwarding them to the state-level empowered panel. Reang noted that residents living in areas governed by the Sixth Schedule (Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) are not eligible to apply for citizenship under the Act.
"Under the CAA, only those who take refuge from three specific countries due to religious persecution in non-Sixth Schedule areas like Agartala Municipal Corporation, municipalities, nagar panchayats and gram panchayats are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship with supporting documents," he said.