New Delhi: Under the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), the Government of India has started granting citizenship to the refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan residing in West Bengal, Haryana and Uttarakhand for the past several years, without any identity. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued a statement on the same stating that the process of granting citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 has now commenced in the state of West Bengal, where the first set of applications from the state was on May 29 granted citizenship by the Empowered Committee of West Bengal.

In its statement, the MHA said, the applicants in the three states were granted citizenship on Wednesday by the respective State Empowered Committee.

First set of citizenship certificates were handed over on May 15

Similarly, the Empowered Committees of the States of Haryana and Uttarakhand have also granted citizenship today to the first set of applicants in their respective States, under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024.

Earlier, the first set of citizenship certificates after notification of the rules were handed over to the applicants in New Delhi by the Union Home Secretary on May 15, 2024.

The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

After the enactment, the CAA got the president’s assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued on March 11 after over a delay of four years.

How CAA is Being Granted

The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 outline the application process, which includes submission via an online portal, review by District Level Committees (DLCs), and final approval by State Level Empowered Committees (ECs). The rules apply to persons from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution or fear thereof.

With the online processing of applications, the government aims to streamline and expedite the citizenship grant process under the CAA, ensuring timely relief for eligible applicants across various states.