The NDA Government at the Centre seems to be very keen on introducing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Odisha, particularly in the coastal district of Kendrapada, to identify the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and to throw them out of the country through legal means.
This is indicated from a letter the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has written to the Registrar General of India (RGI) on September 20 asking it to take further necessary action under the Citizenships (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules of 2003.
The Centre-State (CS) Division of the Ministry wrote the letter to the RGI in response to a mail sent to the Ministry by Orissa High Court Amicus Curiae Mohit Agarwal with reference to a pending writ petition in the High Court pertaining to protection of wetland in Kendrapada district.
Agarwal had referred to a report he had submitted to the High Court seeking the court’s direction to the State Government and the Centre to update the NRC in Kendrapada district.
The High Court in January this year had asked the State Government to take prompt action on the suggestion made by the Amicus Curiae.
Notably, on the direction of the Supreme Court for the protection of the Chilika lake and the Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district, the High Court Registry had registered the case making the State and Union Governments as respondents to the petition; and Agarwal was roped in by the High Court to assist it in deciding the matter.
In a report to the High Court, Agarwal had pointed out that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have intruded into the Bhitarkanika National Park through sea route and have permanently settled there.
The intruders are carrying out massive prawn culture thereby destroying the mangrove cover and the natural ecosystem of the national park.
The report of the Amicus Curiae had further stated that over seven lakh immigrants from Bangladesh are settling in Kendrapada district alone and are carrying out illegal activities leading to frequent law and order problems.
“Since the intruders are also a threat to national security, they should be identified through the NRC and deported back to their native land,” Agarwal said in his report.