West Bengal deploys 12 IAS officers to expedite CAA citizenship process
The deployment follows Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's promise to grant citizenship to 2.5 lakh Matua refugees by December 31.
The West Bengal government on Monday assigned 12 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers to North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts to accelerate the granting of Indian citizenship to Matua refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to The Hawk, the State Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department issued a notification for this purpose late Monday night.
The move follows a promise made on Sunday by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to grant citizenship to 2.5 lakh Matua refugees by December 31. Adhikari announced this while addressing the Second International Matua Gosai Conference at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district.
The 12 officers have been appointed for two months to coordinate with district administrations on document verification, hearings, and legal reviews. In North 24 Parganas, the assigned officers are Romil Dwivedi, Mudita Bansal, Ravula Jayasimha Reddy, Tejaswa, Swami Sunil Ramling, and Rajat Yadav. In Nadia, the officers are Ritika Rath, Chougule Aditi Sanjay, Abhishek Chowdhury, Meghna Chakraborty, Saksham Bhatia, and Himanshu Bhaskar.
Adhikari stated that around 25,000 applicants in Bengal have received citizenship under the CAA so far. He also assured that Matua refugees entering the state from Bangladesh who were jailed under the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress administration would be released and provided with land and accommodation.
The Chief Minister further promised that such refugees would be granted citizenship under the CAA before being enrolled in voter lists. He added that eligible Scheduled Caste applicants would receive Scheduled Caste certificates after receiving their citizenship.