Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula (File Photo)
The government has decided to authorise the teams it had dispatched to distribute citizenship to also distribute naturalised citizenship.

The team was earlier authorised only to distribute citizenship based on descent. However, in many Terai villages, the teams faced difficulties as people were demanding naturalised citizenship as well.

In bordering regions, there are a huge number of women from India who have married with Nepalis and they have to be given citizenship based on marriage naturalisation.

Till now, only the Chief District Officer (CDO) was authorised to award such naturalised citizenship. The Citizenship Rules will now be amended to allow the teams to award such citizenship.

According to Home Minister Krishna Sitaula, children born to parents before the latter had obtained naturalised citizenship would also be given citizenship by the same teams.

On the question that many marginalised communities were still not getting citizenship from the team as they could not produce adequate proof or evidence or witnesses, Sitaula urged political parties and organisations to help those people. “This is the good opportunity to provide citizenship to all eligible persons. Let us not waste this opportunity,” he said.

The Home Ministry has dispatched over 500 teams across the country to distribute citizenship as per the new Citizenship Act 2006 passed by the parliament a few months ago.