Meghalaya plans tough measures against illegal immigrants

Shillong, Aug 30 (IANS) Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Thursday said the state would have a "more stringent institutionalised mechanism than the inner line permit (ILP)" to restrict influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

"ILP can be there in certain checkpoints," Sangma told journalists, adding that the state would have a "better mechanism than the ILP".

He was reacting to the demand of 10 social organisations for implementation of the ILP to prevent infiltration of illegal immigrants into Meghalaya.

The Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People along with other groups sought restrictions like the ILP - required by Indian citizens to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram - saying that the situation in Meghalaya might go out of control given its proximity to Bangladesh and Assam.

The inner line permit is issued under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, by the state governments.

Sangma, however, said the government must have a mechanism that will not only check influx of illegal immigrants but also influx from other parts of the country without infringing into the rights of the Indian citizens.

"There is a need of a better institutionalised mechanism and the directorate of infiltration is in an advanced stage of being created to look into the influx issue," he said.

Moreover, he informed that appointment of labour officers in all the 39 blocks of the state has been sanctioned to oversee the influx of migrant labourers into the state, in term of registration and cross-checking of their antecedents.