Centre Creates Two More Panels in West Bengal to Fast-Track CAA Citizenship
Centre Creates Two More Panels in West Bengal to Fast-Track CAA Citizenship
The Home Ministry expands empowered committees in West Bengal to handle growing CAA citizenship applications with senior officials and multi-agency oversight.
The Union Home Ministry on Monday announced the creation of two additional empowered committees in West Bengal to decide citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act. The new panels will join the state’s existing committees to speed up processing amid a large number of applications.
Each empowered committee will be headed by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, to be nominated by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The panel will also include an officer from the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau at not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India; an officer not below Under Secretary to be nominated by the jurisdictional Foreigners Regional Registration Officer; and an officer not below Under Secretary to be nominated by the State Informatics Officer of the National Informatics Centre of West Bengal.
The committee will further include the Post Master General of West Bengal or a postal officer nominated by the Post Master General, not below the rank of Under Secretary; and there will be two invitees — a representative from the office of the Principal Secretary (Home) or Additional Chief Secretary (Home) of the West Bengal government, and a representative of the Divisional Railway Manager of Railways.
This move accompanies reports that thousands of people belonging to the Matua community have applied or are being encouraged to apply for citizenship under CAA. Officials note that Bengal’s Muslim districts have the highest number of cases awaiting adjudication under SIR, a situation referenced in a prior notification about the empowered committees under the act, which historically had a panel headed by the Director Census Operations and seven other members.
The gazette notification issued on March 2, 2026, formalized the decision to form two more panels, part of ongoing efforts to process pending applications more efficiently.
Login to comment.
No thots yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!