NEW DELHI: The UPA government, during its second term from 2009 to 2014, not only stated in Parliament that the National Population Register (NPR) is a prelude to the creation of a National Register of Indian Citizen (NRIC), but also said there will be “social vetting” of “usual resident status” as declared in the NPR.
In reply to a question in Lok Sabha on August 28, 2012, then minister of state for home Jitendra Singh had stated, “The National Population Register is the first step towards the creation of a National Register of Indian Citizens.
A resident can be part of this Citizens Register only after thorough verification of her/ his citizenship status”.
A more interesting reply by Singh to a related query in Lok Sabha came earlier on August 2, 2011, where he detailed how entries in NPR would be subject to “social vetting” by gram sabhas and ward committees and claims and objections examined by revenue officials like patwari or talati, tehsildars and collectors.
These officials are designated as local registrars, sub-district registrars and district registrars. “….the Local Register of Usual Residents (LRUR) along with Aadhaar number would be published in the local areas for inviting objections and claims. The LRUR would also be placed before the gram sabha/ward committee for social vetting,” Singh, who then represented Alwar in Lok Sabha, had stated.
He added that claims and objections may also be raised by law enforcement agencies or by the registrars on their own accord. While referring to “social vetting” for NPR in reply to a Lok Sabha question on May 4, 2010, then MoS (home) Ajay Maken had confirmed that it had been discussed with all states and UTs, including at the chief minister level.
While NPR exercise was undertaken in 2010 followed by updation in 2015, the registry of usual residents was never published, ruling out any claims and objections. However, the data was shared with various central government agencies and state governments over time for formulation of targeted entitlement schemes.
Source: Economic Times
