The Central government today informed the Jharkhand High Court that the situation of infiltration of Bangladeshis in Santhal Pargana is alarming. “Due to this, the demography of the area is getting affected,” it added.

Appearing for the Centre Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the demography of the area is changing due to infiltration from Bangladesh. The decline in the percentage of tribal population is a serious issue, he said.

Hearing the PIL, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai accepted Mehta’s request and fixed the next hearing of this case on September 12.

Mehta also urged the court to remove IB from the list of respondents in this case, as it has many confidential information which cannot be made public. This PIL, filed by Jamshedpur resident Daniel Danish, says that Bangladeshi intruders are infiltrating in Jharkhand from border areas like Jamtara, Pakur, Godda, Sahibganj etc. This is having an egregious effect on the population of these districts. A large number of madrasas have also been established there. Bangladeshi migrants are even marrying local tribals.

In its earlier hearing on August 22, the court expressed displeasure over the non-filing of reply by the Centre, Intelligence Bureau, UIDAI and the BSF. The state government was ordered to identify the infiltrators with the help of Special Branch. The Deputy Commissioners of all the six districts of Santhal Pargana division were also asked not to issue Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter cards, BPL cards without matching them with the land records. The court had also observed that it cannot be said that the documents procured on the basis of ration cards, voter cards or Aadhaar cards were legitimate. Owing to this, people are also being deprived of their rights in the public welfare schemes of the state government.

According to the data presented before the High Court citing the National Census, the tribal population in Santhal Pargana region has decreased from 44.67 per cent in 1951 to 28.11 per cent in 2011. A major reason behind this is Bangladeshi infiltration. If this trend continues, the situation will further aggravate, the Centre said.

Appearing on behalf of a social activist, Rajendra Krishna pointed out how the tribal population has been reduced to 28 per cent from 42 per cent in Santhal Pargana. He also cited the electoral list in which the number of voters has jumped 100 times to 300 times at several booths. “A major reason behind this is Bangladeshi infiltration. If this process is not stopped, the situation will become serious,” he said.

During the previous hearing, the state government was ordered to take action with the Special Branch’s help to ensure infiltrators’ identification. Deputy Commissioners of all the six districts of Santhal Pargana division were also directed not to issue Aadhaar, ration, voter and BPL cards without matching them with the land records. The court had also said that it cannot be said that the documents based on which ration, voter or Aadhaar cards have been made are legitimate. Due to this, people are also being deprived of their rights in the public welfare schemes of the state government.