The News
- Recently, the Mizoram Assembly has unanimously passed the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019, that seeks to detect foreigners illegally residing in the Mizoram.
Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019
- The bill intends to provide credible individual identification system and to prevent usurpation of benefits of developmental schemes by those who are not entitled.
- It defines “citizens” as a person registered as such, or having requisite qualification as prescribed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
- The bill provides for the development of a comprehensive database in respect of all the residents of Mizoram and ensures its updation and maintenance.
- The update is required for improvement of the system of delivery of benefits of welfare schemes as well for security purposes, by way of enumerations and verification from time to time.
Need of the Bill
- Influx of foreigners: Mizoram shares an over 700-km border with Bangladesh and Myanmar. The continuous influx of foreigners into the state through its porous borders has remained a serious concern for several decades.
- Threat to law and order: Such influx had resulted in abnormal increase in the population which posed a serious threat to law and order as well as the state’s internal security.
- Usurpation of development benefits: In many cases the delivery of benefits of welfare schemes do not reach the people of the state because of such foreigners who got assimilated assimilation in the mainstream by taking advantage of the mistaken identity and of difficulties in detecting them.
- The State has legislative power to make provisions for effective public order, due maintenance of law and order and meaningful village and town administration. Thus, it was felt imperative for the State to invoke such powers to enact a suitable law for the purpose.
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