Not possible to collect data of illegal migrants living in various parts of country: Centre to SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it is not possible to collect data of illegal migrants living in various parts of the country as entry of foreign nationals is clandestine and surreptitious.
In its affidavit filed in the top court which is examining the constitutional validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam, the Centre said 17,861 people have been granted citizenship under the provision.
Answering the court's query posed on December 7, the Centre said 32,381 people have been detected as foreigners under the orders of foreigners tribunal with reference to the period of 1966-1971.
Replying to the court's query about the estimated inflow of illegal immigrants into India, including but not confined to Assam after March 25, 1971, the Centre said illegal immigrants enter the country without valid travel documents in a clandestine and surreptitious manner.
"The detection, detention and deportation of such illegally staying foreign nationals is a complex ongoing process. Since entry of such foreign nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to collect accurate data of such illegal immigrants living in various parts of the country," the Centre said.
The government said in the past five-years from 2017 to 2022, 14,346 foreigners were deported.
Giving some figures, the Centre said 100 foreigners tribunal are presently working in Assam and as on October 31, 2023, more than 3.34 lakh cases have been disposed of and still 97, 714 as on October 31.
It said the number of cases pending before the Gauhati High Court, arising from the orders of the Foreigners Tribunal are 8,461 as on December 1, 2023.
The government gave details about the working of the Assam Police, fencing of borders, border patrols and other mechanisms adopted to dissuade infiltration.
On December 7, the top court directed the Centre to provide data on the number of Bangladeshi immigrants granted Indian citizenship in Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which is hearing a batch of pleas on validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act had asked the state government to provide the data to the Centre for filing an affidavit.
It had also asked the Centre to inform it about the steps taken to deal with illegal immigration into India, particularly the North Eastern states.
Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relates to illegal immigrants in Assam.
The provision was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.
It says those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.
As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
ALSO READ: Tharoor junks Rijiju's claim that he agreed Cong is 'anti-women'; hails his party
With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
