Howrah, August 25, 2026: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has welcomed the Union Home Ministry’s latest decision to authorise District Collectors in certain states to directly handle applications and issue citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the decision would make the citizenship process faster for eligible Hindu refugees in West Bengal. He added that once the applicants receive their citizenship certificates, their names can be included in the voter list and they would be able to access rights available to other Indian citizens.
Calling the Centre’s decision “very good news”, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the move was in line with a commitment made to him by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the elections.
He said the Centre had now transferred the necessary authority to the state-level administration and that the remaining work would be taken forward by his government.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also discussed the implementation of the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Act. According to him, the legislation contains two separate provisions, with the state government having completed the necessary process for implementing one of them.
He said the provision related to preventive detention for up to 12 months is still awaiting the President’s assent. Meanwhile, rules concerning the other part of the legislation have been issued by the state government and enforcement action has already started.
The Chief Minister said that in cases of vandalism, the government would recover three times the value of the damage, along with interest. He maintained that the legal framework provides the necessary mechanism for recovering the cost from those responsible.
The latest development on citizenship follows an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 19. The order, published in the Official Gazette on August 19 and coming into effect from the same day, clarified the applicability of an earlier government order issued under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Under the fresh order, the Central Government’s March 11, 2024 order will not apply to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam except its tribal areas, Tripura except its tribal areas and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The MHA order was issued under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, read with Rule 11A of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.
A significant part of the order concerns applications already pending under Section 6B. Such applications before the Empowered Committee and District Level Committee in the states and Union Territories covered by the order will now be transferred to the respective District Collectors.
The provision covers pending applications in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Section 6B provides a legal route for granting Indian citizenship to eligible members of specified communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, subject to the conditions prescribed under the law.
The provision was introduced through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The government subsequently notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 to bring the amended citizenship provisions into operation.
