Shillong: Meghalaya has detected 736 foreign nationals staying illegally in the State since 2021, with 262 of them deported after serving their sentences and securing the required travel permits, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told the Assembly on Tuesday.
Sangma was replying to a short-duration discussion on the 10-point charter of the Voice of the People Party (VPP), raised by party chief and Nongkrem MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit.
He said the Anti-Infiltration Directorate is the nodal agency responsible for detecting and deporting illegal immigrants in the State. The process is being carried out in line with directives issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The government has set up task forces in all 12 districts to identify Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally. These teams conduct regular inspections and special drives, while joint teams comprising magistrates, police personnel and infiltration branch officials carry out surprise checks every month.
A state-level committee headed by the Principal Secretary/Secretary, Home (Political), has also been formed to identify foreigners who are residing illegally in Meghalaya. The committee is required to identify those who have overstayed in the State since January 1, 2011, and submit monthly reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to Sangma, 18 anti-infiltration checkposts and checkgates, railway facilitation centres and Land Customs Stations have been established along the Indo-Bangladesh and interstate borders.
Border surveillance is being carried out jointly by the State Police and BSF through regular patrolling and naka checking. Electronic surveillance systems, including high-density lights, have also been installed at strategic points.
The government has also involved nokmas, headmen and Village Defence Parties in border villages to strengthen surveillance and reporting.
Sangma said the Village Defence Party scheme had recently been reviewed and that the government was working to provide additional equipment, technology and financial assistance to such groups, particularly in sensitive areas.
On the Meghalaya Residents, Safety and Security Act, 2016, the Chief Minister said task forces had been constituted in all 12 districts and an online registration system had been operational since September 2022.
As of now, 966 localities, 561 sub-localities, 1,653 landlords and 5,042 tenants have been registered. The figures are higher than those presented before the Assembly in February this year.
Sangma further said migrant workers seeking employment in Meghalaya are required to register with the Labour Department under the Meghalaya Identification, Registration, Safety and Security of Migrant Workers Act, 2020.
The rules under the Act have been finalised and will now be placed before the Cabinet for approval.
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The government is also working to make the facilitation centre at Umling operational at the earliest, Sangma said. The centre will have facilities for tourists as well as a food court.
A similar centre has been proposed at Ratacherra, with the government planning to establish facilities based on the same model at other locations across Meghalaya.
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