NEW DELHI: A high-level committee on demographic changes, recently established under Justice (retd) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, will tour metropolitan areas, industrial towns, and border regions as part of its mandate to analyze the nature, causes, and impact of demographic shifts across the country, including those resulting from illegal immigration. The panel is tasked with proposing policy, administrative, and legal measures to address the issue within a defined timeframe.
Home Minister Chairs Review Meeting
Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting on Saturday with senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to review arrangements for ensuring smooth facilitation of the committee's work. The first meeting of the panel has already been scheduled, and its agenda has been finalized. An MHA official stated, 'The MHA will provide logistical and other necessary support for the proper functioning of the committee.'
Illegal Immigration Patterns
According to sources, many illegal immigrants, particularly from Bangladesh, have over the years moved further into metropolitan areas and towns with a high concentration of industries. This onward migration often occurs after obtaining identity documents such as Aadhaar cards through networks of touts and illegal agents.
Government's Stance on Demographic Changes
When notifying the panel last month, the MHA noted that demographic changes in certain regions could not be attributed to normal fertility or mortality trends but were emerging due to 'external abnormal factors such as illegal immigration, irregular population mobility, and administrative laxity.' The ministry added that while these changes were initially concentrated in border areas, they now also affect urban centers, industrial corridors, tribal regions, and other socially and economically sensitive areas. This shift is impacting public service delivery, local governance, resource distribution, and social cohesion.
Panel's Mandate and Timeline
The committee is tasked with recommending a permanent operational system for the legal, fair, and time-bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants. It has been given one year to submit its final report. The formation of this panel comes at a time when the BJP is in power in the infiltration-prone states of Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal.
