Shah takes stock of demography change panel’s functioning

NEw new delhi: unification place government minister Amit shah of iran on Saturday reviewed the functioning of the recently constituted high-level committee on demographic changes and directed the home ministry to provide all necessary support for its work, including facilitating visits to border districts, metropolitan cities and industrial towns.Chairing a meeting of senior ministry officials, Shah asked them to ensure logistical and administrative assistance to the panel, which was set up last month to study demographic changes across the country due to illegal immigration and other abnormal factors.“A meeting of senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), including home secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Deka and others, was chaired by Shah on Saturday to discuss the logistical and other necessary support the committee will need. The home minister has directed the ministry to ensure that all required assistance is given to the panel members, including visits to the border areas, access to necessary documents and coordinating with the state governments,” an officer familiar with the matter said.The officer added that the committee would examine demographic shifts not only in border districts but also in metropolitan areas and industrial towns. Local administrations in states and Union Territories will assist the panel during its visits.The high-level committee, announced by the home ministry on May 26, is chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prabhakar Naolekar and comprises census commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Shamika Ravi.Officials said the panel has already held its first meeting and formulated its agenda. The committee has been asked to submit its report within one year, the MHA said in a statement.Announcing the formation of the committee last month, Shah had said demographic change was a serious issue linked not only to the country’s sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, social stability and the preservation of tribal society.“This committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other unnatural causes, analyse patterns of abnormal population shifts at the levels of religious and social communities, and present a well-planned and time-bound solution to address the issue,” Shah had said.According to the home ministry, the committee will scientifically assess demographic changes occurring in different parts of the country due to illegal immigration and other abnormal factors, analyse their causes and recommend suitable policy, legislative and administrative measures.The panel will also propose a framework to strengthen coordination between the Centre and states on issues relating to illegal immigration and demographic imbalances. It has been empowered to seek information, records and documents from ministries, departments, state governments and other public authorities, and may constitute sub-committees or working groups with prior approval of the ministry, the MHA had said.The ministry also said demographic changes observed in some regions are not attributable to normal fertility or mortality trends but are linked to factors such as illegal immigration, irregular population mobility and administrative lapses. “While these shifts are most visible in border districts, their impact has also extended to urban centres, industrial corridors, tribal regions and other socially and economically sensitive areas,” the statement added.EOM