Citizens asked to detail demographic changes in their areas through MHA portal

The demography panel set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a portal to allow government bodies, members of the public, NGOs, and even “international organisations” to submit their input on “frequent demographic changes in the country,” preferably post-2011.

The portal said that while these changes are most visibly concentrated in border districts, their impact has extended to affect urban centres, industrial corridors, tribal regions, and other socially and economically sensitive areas, severely impacting public service delivery, local governance, resource distribution, and social cohesion.

It said that these changes are “not attributable to normal fertility or mortality trends but are instead emerging due to external abnormal factors, including illegal immigration, irregular population mobility, and administrative laxity.”

Analysing demographic change

The MHA said that the inputs will help the panel to analyse and identify the causes of demographic changes and to recommend a well-organised and permanent operational system for the “legal, fair, and time bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.”

The portal mandatorily seeks the mobile phone number, address, and e-mail ID of the respondent, and seeks their consent for the processing of their personal data and review and analysis of the information provided.