The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has approved the following facilities being extended to persons from
Minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely Hindus,
Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians staying on Long Term Visa (LTV)
in India. The move is aimed at easing out the difficulties being faced by them
and includes the following:-
·
Opening of bank account.
·
Permission for purchase of property for self occupation and
suitable accommodation for carrying out self – employment.
·
Permission to take self employment.
·
Issue of driving licence, PAN card and Aadhar number.
·
Allowing free movement within the State /UT where they are
staying.
·
Transfer of LTV papers from one State to other.
·
Waiver of penalty on non-extension of short term Visa /LTV
on time.
·
Permission to apply for LTV from the place of present
residence when the applicants have moved to the place without permission.
In order to facilitate such persons in acquisition of
citizenship by amending Citizenship Rules 2009, the provisions will help in the
following ways:-
·
The Collector / DM would be empowered to authorize an
officer not below the rank of Sub Divisional Magistrate for administering the
oath of allegiance to the applicant.
·
The powers would be delegated to the Collectors of the
following 16 Districts in 7 States for a period of two years for registration
as citizens of India.
|
S. No.
|
States
|
Districts
|
|
1
|
Chhattisgarh
|
Raipur
|
|
2
|
Gujarat
|
Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch
|
|
3
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
Bhopal and Indore
|
|
4
|
Maharashtra
|
Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune and Thane
|
|
5
|
Delhi
|
West Delhi and South Delhi
|
|
6
|
Rajasthan
|
Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur
|
|
7
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
Lucknow
|
·
The registration fees for the citizenship of India would be
reduced to Rs 100 from the existing range of Rs 3000 - Rs 15000.
Background:
Government has
taken a number of steps during the last 2 years to facilitate the stay of
persons belonging to minority communities of these countries. However, persons
belonging to minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,
namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians staying in India on
Long Term Visa (LTV) continue to face difficulties with regard to several
aspects of living. The Cabinet approval will help ease out the difficulties
faced by them.
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AKT/VBA/SH