Over 1.56 lakh foreigners detected, 30,000 deported: Assam minister

He said various clauses of the Accord are in different stages of implementation, with a sub-committee formed to advice the government on it. Bora said a sub-committee has been formed by the government to look into the implementation of all the clauses of the Accord.

More than 1.56 lakh illegal foreigners have been detected in the state as per the 1985 Assam Accord provisions while over 30,000 of them have been deported so far, Minister Atul Bora told the state Assembly on Wednesday. He said various clauses of the Accord are in different stages of implementation, with a sub-committee formed to advice the government on it. Replying to a question by Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Bora said 1,56,651 illegal foreigners have been identified in the state till July 31, 2023, as per the Accord regulations.

The Assam Accord was signed in August 1985 after a six-year-long anti-foreigner movement. It stated, among other clauses, that names of foreigners coming to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, would be detected, deleted from electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them. The minister said 30,089 illegal foreigners have been deported on the basis of it till August 31. He also said all 100 Foreigners' Tribunals are functioning currently. Bora said a sub-committee has been formed by the government to look into the implementation of all the clauses of the Accord. The sub-committee has held five rounds of sittings so far and further measures on Accord implementation will be taken after its report submission. On fencing along the international border with Bangladesh, Bora said 1.49 per cent is still open and the ministry of external affairs has been urged to take steps. Sharing details of the unfenced areas, he said a 6.1-km stretch along Dhubri-Mankachar has not been fenced as it is a deep area while another 4.5km in Cachar-Karimganj area has remained unfenced due to objections by the Border Guard Bangladesh.