Centre notifies committee to clear pending CAA applications in Bengal

21 FEBRUARY 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified an additional empowered committee in West Bengal to fast-track pending citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
This comes amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

Why Was a New Committee Formed?

A large number of people, especially from the Matua community, have applied for citizenship under CAA.
Many of them do not have their names in the 2002 electoral roll, which is being used as the benchmark in the ongoing electoral revision.
Due to the surge in applications, an additional State-specific empowered committee has been created for West Bengal.

Composition of the New Committee

The committee includes
Deputy Registrar-General, Directorate of Census Operations (West Bengal) – Head
Officer from Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (IB) (Deputy Secretary rank or above)
Two Under Secretary-level officials (from FRRO & NIC West Bengal)
Postmaster General of West Bengal

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 grants citizenship to undocumented migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan belonging to:
- Hindu
- Sikh
- Buddhist
- Parsi
- Christian
- Jain communities
They must have entered India on or before 31 December 2014
It reduces residency requirement from 12 years to 5 years
On March 11, 2024, the government notified the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024, enabling implementation of the Act.

Issue of Documentation

Though meant for undocumented migrants, the Rules require submission of documents.
Some applicants lack documents issued by authorities in Bangladesh/Pakistan/Afghanistan.
This had earlier discouraged applications.

Matua Community

The Matua community consists largely of Hindu Namasudras.
They began migrating from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in 1947 (Partition) as well as before and after 1971 (Bangladesh Liberation War)
They have strong presence in West Bengal
They are the second largest Scheduled Caste community in West Bengal.