Dr S Lakhsmanan
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Dr S Lakhsmanan addressing the media at his office chamber on Monday evening. Image credit - Northeast Now

Though the deadline of December 31 is just two weeks away for submitting claims and objection form, a whopping one lakh three thousand residents of Cachar district, whose names have not come up in the final draft of the NRC list published on July 30 last, are yet to file their ‘claims form’.

This was informed by Cachar Deputy Commissioner Dr S Lakhsmanan during a press conference here on Monday evening.

Briefing the media, Lakhsmanan said, “As of now, we have received 1.25 lakh claim forms in various NRC seva kendras. The time is running out, and the remaining names which have not featured in the list, numbering close to 2.28 lakhs for this district, should do so immediately.”

He added, “If by December 31 this year, the claims form is not submitted than their names would not appear in the final list of NRC which will come out in all likelihood by next year.”

Later, talking to Northeast Now, Dr Lakhsmanan said, “As per the orders of the Supreme Court, the last date of receiving NRC claims and objection forms have been extended from December 15 to December 31, 2018. We have made arrangements for taking the forms both digitally as well as manually.”

The Supreme Court has accepted to receive any supporting documents issued post 2015 which has been one among many demands by the people of Barak Valley, said the Cachar DC.

“Others, whose names have not featured in the final draft of NRC should without fail fill up the claims form. Those, who have no other supporting documents to submit, should still fill up the claims form and write a note to verify the existing documents submitted, once again for the names to be incorporated,” informed Dr Lakhsmanan.

With just less than a fortnight to go for the curtains to down for one of the most important NRC process, that of, registering claims and objections form, all eyes and ears would now be glued to see whether these one lakh people do fill up the forms or not.