NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Sunday announced that it proposes to simplify procedures for grant of Indian citizenship to minority Hindus from Pakistan.
The proposal also envisages allowing ‘minority communities of Pakistan staying in India on a Long Term Visa’ to buy property, open bank accounts and obtain permanent account number (PAN) and Aadhaar number, a home ministry official said here.
According to the proposal, the collectors or district magistrates of 18 districts will be empowered for two years’ period to grant citizenship to such people at heavily reduced fees.
The districts are Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Kutch and Patan (Gujarat), Bhopal and Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune and Thane (Maharashtra), West Delhi and South Delhi (National Capital Territory), Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
“These are only at proposal stage,” the official told IANS and sought public comments and suggestions on the measures proposed.
The feedback may be sent to the foreigners cell of the union home ministry.
It is further proposed that the fees for registration as citizen of India for nationals of Pakistan belonging to minority communities be reduced from Rs 5,000 (under registration) and Rs 15,000 (under naturalisation) to a uniform fee of Rs 100 each at the time of application and at the time of grant of certificate of registration or naturalisation. “There are reports that a number of Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities in those countries, such as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists, have been compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution,” the official said.
