New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted two additional empowered committees in West Bengal to process applications for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), citing a sharp rise in submissions.
Officials said the state already had two such panels, but the increasing number of applications necessitated the expansion. A gazette notification issued on Monday detailed the structure of the new committees.
Each panel will be headed by an officer of at least Deputy Secretary rank, nominated by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
Members will include representatives from the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau, the concerned Foreigners Regional Registration Office, the National Informatics Centre in West Bengal and the Post Master General’s office. Invitees will include officials from the West Bengal Home Department and the Railways.
The Centre operationalised the CAA in March 2024, notifying rules for granting citizenship to eligible non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India before 31 December 2014.
