SRINAGAR: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) to undertake a scientific study of demographic shifts across the country, with a particular focus on changes linked to illegal immigration, irregular population mobility and administrative lapses.
According to a resolution issued by the Foreigners-I Division of the MHA on May 26, the committee has been tasked with examining the nature, causes and consequences of demographic changes observed in several regions and recommending policy, administrative and legal measures to address the issue.
The ministry said such demographic shifts, initially concentrated in border districts, have increasingly affected urban centres, industrial corridors, tribal areas and other socially and economically sensitive regions, impacting public service delivery, local governance, resource distribution and social cohesion.
The committee will be chaired by retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar and includes the Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), MHA, as Member Secretary. Other members include the Census Commissioner, retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Dr Shamika Ravi.
Its terms of reference include identifying factors behind demographic changes, including illegal immigration and abnormal settlement patterns, analysing structural population shifts at the level of religious and social communities, and recommending a permanent mechanism for the identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.
The panel has also been asked to propose measures to strengthen border management, population stabilisation and coordination between the Centre and states on matters related to illegal immigration.
Headquartered in New Delhi, the committee has been given one year to submit its final report. The Ministry of Home Affairs will provide all administrative and logistical support for its functioning.
