The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) empowered the district collectors of two more districts in Gujarat — Mehsana and Anand — to grant citizenship certificates to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
This is not the first-time the district magistrates or collectors have been delegated such powers by the MHA, similar orders were issued in 2016, 2018 and 2021 empowering District Magistrates in several districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to migrants from the six communities who entered India on valid documents. Citizenship is a central subject and from time-to-time MHA delegates State officials to exercise such powers. Ahead of the Gujarat election, district collectors have been empowered to grant citizenship.