The Tripura government has constituted a six-member state-level empowered committee with Director Census Operations, as chairman to grant citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, an official said on Friday.

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.

"Following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state-level empowered committee for granting Indian citizenship under the CAA has been formed," Director, Census Operations, Rabindra Reang told PTI.

He said all District Magistrates of the state have been asked to constitute district-level empowered committees to receive applications under the CAA and undertake scrutiny before forwarding it to the state-level empowered panel.

Reang said residents who are living under the areas of Sixth schedule areas (Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) are not eligible to apply for citizenship under the Act.

"Under the CAA, only those who take refuge from three specific countries due to religious persecution in non-Sixth Schedule areas like Agartala Municipal Corporation, municipalities, nagar panchayats and gram panchayats are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship with supporting documents," he said.

Reang said those people who want Indian citizenship will have to apply to the district-level committee for consideration.

"After scrutiny by the district-level panel, the applications will be referred to the state-level empowered committee for consideration. If everything is found true, then the state-level panel will grant citizenship under the CAA," he said.

Reang said the Directorate of Census Operations will conduct a statewide awareness programme on the CAA so that the concerned persons could apply for citizenship.

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