The Meghalaya government on Friday approved to amend Meghalaya Residents, Safety and Security Act, 2016 (MRSSA), seeking mandatory registration of outsiders for entering the state.

“The amended Act has been approved and it will come into force with immediate effect. It will be regularised in the next session of the state assembly,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters after the meeting.

He said the decision was taken after several meetings were held with the different stakeholders including political parties and NGOs.

“Any person who is not a resident of Meghalaya and intend to stay more than 24 hours in the state will have to furnish document to the government. This is done for their (outsiders) own interest as well as for the interest of the government and people of Meghalaya. They will be much safer,” he said.

Employees of the Centre, state and District Councils are exempted from the purview of the Act, he said.

The Act was passed by the then Congress government to check the illegal immigration in the state. The focal point was on tenants.

Instructions had been given to all landlords to make sure that papers were in place and they should inform the traditional community heads (Rangbah Shnongs, Dollois and Nokmas), the deputy chief minister said.

“We will redraft the existing rules to ensure simple procedures for registration, and also allow online registration. Once the rules are ready, it will be placed before the cabinet,” he said.

Tynsong said that the district task forces headed by the respective deputy commissioners will have to be more proactive.

He said any person, who willfully fails to furnish the information or provide false document, will be liable to be punished under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The amendment comes after the implementation of NRC in Assam. The final updated NRC was released in August this year with the authority conducting the exercise shutting out the citizenship claims of over 19 lakh applicants.

The Meghalaya cabinet has also approved the Meghalaya Charcoal (Control of Production, Storage, Trade and Transit) Amendment Rules, 2019, proposed by the Forest and Environment department.

The amendment was brought in to restrict the usage of charcoal, produced within the state, in ferro-alloy industries and the units have to procure it from outside, Mr Tynsong said.

Production of charcoal for local consumption (mostly for cooking purposes) is still allowed, he added.