Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that Rs 1527.90 crore has been spent so far on updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), an official record of bonafide Indian citizens living in the state.
Replying to a question of Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purakayastha in the assembly, the chief minister said that the Registrar General of India (RGI) is yet to notify the final NRC published on August 31, 2019.
The NRC, updated under the supervision of the Supreme Court, left out more than 19 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants.
Regarding the issuance of rejection slips to those who had been left out of the final register, Sarma said that this falls under the purview of the RGI and the NRC State Coordinator.
Sarma said that the state government had filed a petition for 20 per cent re-verification in the border districts and 10 per cent in the others but the Supreme Court did not consider it as the former NRC State Coordinator had submitted that 27 per cent re-verification has been already done.
In reply to another question by AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam on the biometric data taken during the claims and objection process of the NRC updating, Sarma said that it was taken for linking with Aadhar cards.
“The matter is pending with the Supreme Court and the Aadhar Card is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The department concerned can only issue it following the Supreme Court’s directives and the notification of the final NRC,” he added.
