Over 500 suggestions in 2 days of launch of portal to flag unnatural demographic changes

The Committee has also been asked to recommend a well-organised and permanent operational system for legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants already residing in the country.

THE HIGH-LEVEL Committee (HLC) on demographic changes has received over 500 suggestions within two days of launching its dedicated web portal for people to provide details of unnatural demographic shifts.

The inputs will be used to develop a system for identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar (retd.), launched the portal — demography.mha.gov.in — on Wednesday (October 14) for public access, stakeholder submissions and data interaction.

“The portal facilitates Central government ministries/departments, state/UT governments, NGOs/institutions and individuals to give inputs/data/information on unnatural demographic changes, their causes and the underlying factors behind these changes, abnormal settlement patterns, etc,” an MHA official said.

The official said the inputs will help the Committee analyse and identify the causes of demographic changes and recommend a well-organised, permanent operational system for the legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.

The Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 26.

Its terms of reference require it to undertake an extensive consideration of the challenges arising from demographic changes, including those due to illegal immigration.

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“To study the possible causes of such demographic changes, such as variations in fertility, cross-border movement (including illegal immigration), economic opportunities and other socio-environmental factors. To identify the underlying factors behind these changes, including illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns and planned migration. To analyse structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities, especially those diverging from uniform trends,” an MHA spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, the Committee has also been asked to recommend a well-organised and permanent operational system for legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants already residing in the country.

“To recommend an appropriate institutional mechanism to strengthen border management, population stabilisation and identification systems for sustained monitoring of such trends. To propose a comprehensive policy framework to enhance coordination between Central and State governments in matters related to illegal immigration and resultant demographic imbalance,” the spokesperson said.