District Collectors Now Handle Citizenship Applications in Eight States and UTs

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has moved the processing of pending citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, from multi-agency teams to district Collectors in eight states and union territories. This decision follows an August 19 order.

District Collectors in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam (excluding tribal areas), Tripura (excluding tribal areas), Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are now responsible for processing CAA applications. The previous system involving Central government officials is no longer used.

The changes came after the Bharatiya Janata Party won in West Bengal. Earlier amendments to the CAA Rules, which took effect on March 11, 2024, aimed to streamline citizenship applications for members of six non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.

The CAA faced strong opposition from the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal. To avoid state government involvement, Central officials were tasked with processing applications through Empowered Committees. This was done ahead of the Assembly polls in April.

A significant group benefiting under the CAA is the Matua community, which includes Hindu Namasudras originally from Bangladesh. Many faced issues after a voter list update, where their names were not included despite having proper documents.

Citizenship processing is now solely handled by district Collectors under new rules. They must verify documents, conduct inquiries, and determine eligibility for citizenship. The Collector can grant Indian citizenship if the applicant meets all requirements and passes an oath of allegiance.

Applications can be rejected if applicants fail to appear for the oath despite being given opportunities. All pending applications with previous committees have been transferred to district Collectors under this new system.