Assam exceeds 45-day deadline set by HC to construct detention centre in Goalpara

The Assam government has exceeded the 45-day deadline set by Gauhati High Court to complete the construction of a detention centre for “foreigners” in Matia town of Goalpara district, reported The New Indian Express. The state government has exceeded the deadline by 33 days as of Wednesday.

“The construction is almost complete,” said the state’s Commissioner-Secretary (Home) Manivannan S.

On August 11, the High Court had set the 45-day deadline on the request of the advocate general, who had sought an additional six weeks to finish the project and to shift the detainees from other detention centres to the one under construction in Matia.

There were about 177 detainees in the various detention centers then, according to the advocate general.

Detention centres are used to hold persons identified as “foreigners” and awaiting deportation or repatriation, or persons waiting for their citizenship claims to be settled. These detention centres are now called transit camps, according to a state government notification.

The Matia detention centre is being constructed at a cost of Rs 64 crore on a 25-acre land. It can house 3,000 people at a time.

Assam currently has six detention centres for those found residing in the state illegally. These are located inside the district jails of Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Tezpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Silchar.

In Kokrajhar, Silchar and…

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