The Maharashtra government has reportedly sought plot in Navi Mumbai to build a detention centre to house illegal immigrants over a week after the publication of final Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) list.

The Maharashtra Home Ministry had last week reportedly wrote to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is the planning authority for Navi Mumbai, and sought a three-acre plot in Nerul for the detention centre, according to a report in NDTV.

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However, officials have denied that the detention centre is linked to the NRC exercise.

The reported move comes a week after the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list in Assam was published on August 31, including names of 3.1 crore people and leaving out 19 lakh names.

“A total of 3,11,21,004 persons found eligible for inclusion in final NRC leaving out 19,06,657 persons including those who did not submit their claims. Those not satisfied with the outcome can file an appeal before Foreigners’ Tribunals,” Prateek Hajela, State Coordinator, NRC had said after the list was out.

The draft published on July 30, 2018, included the names of 2.9 crore people out of total applications of 3.29 crore. Forty-one lakh people were left out in the draft.

The Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise was aimed at identifying whether a person residing in Assam is actually an Indian or a foreigner.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that persons who have been left out of the final Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) list will not be detained till they exhaust all remedies available under law.

The state government has made arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy amongst those excluded from the list by providing assistance through District Legal Services Authorities, the ministry said.

The Home Ministry has also increased from 60 to 120 days the time limit for filing appeals in Foreign Tribunals (FTs) regarding exclusion from the final NRC in Assam.

Reports of detention centre being built near Mumbai comes as the state prepares for Assembly elections in the next few months.

Earlier last week, Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant had told news agency ANI that NRC was needed in Mumbai to drive out the Bangladeshis living there.

“NRC was needed in Assam to solve the problems of the original inhabitants of the region. That is why we supported the NRC move… want a similar exercise to be held in Mumbai to drive out the Bangladeshis living here,” he had said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is planning to implement the National Citizenship Register throughout the country. The ministry had issued a notification on July 31, 2019, where it mentioned that the Central government has decided to prepare and update the population register in the rest of India other than the state of Assam.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier said that the centre will identify and deport all the illegal immigrants and infiltrators from the country.

Shah minced no words in reaffirming that the NRC will not be restricted to Assam, but will be implemented across the length and breadth of the country.