JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government will organise special camps for minority refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to grant Indian citizenship, Health Minister Gajendra Singh said on Thursday.
He was replying to a supplementary question on behalf of the Home Minister during Question Hour in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Singh said the state government was making special efforts to grant citizenship to the refugees as soon as possible.
The rules and procedures for granting Indian citizenship to minority refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been simplified. District Collectors have been given powers to issue citizenship certificates, he said.
Special citizenship camps will be held at the district level every month to issue citizenship certificates to the Pakistani refugees. Instructions have been issued to district collectors in this regard, the minister added.
According to Singh, 2,329 people have been granted citizenship of the state between 2016 and 2024.
A total of 1,566 applications are currently pending, of which 300 are awaiting the Intelligence Bureau report, Singh said.
Earlier, in a written reply to a question by MP Rabindra Singh Bhati, the minister said 373 applications for granting citizenship to Pakistani refugees from Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bharatiya districts had been received in the last five years, of which 84 have been processed and 289 are pending.
Published July 18, 2024 14:24 IST
