The government of Assam on Wednesday sanctioned a Standard Operating Procedure for inter religious land transfer within the state.

Informing about the decision, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that "all such transfers will come to the government".

"In a sensitive state like Assam, land transfer must be given over carefully. All such transfers will reach us in the government and we will examine all the transfers. We will examine the source of income of the buyer, whether the sale of that land will have an impact on the social textures of that place, whether there is any national security threat involved in some cases, accordingly the District Commissioner will take the final decision," Sarma replied.

"The select Nodal Officer in that Department would then pass it to the Special Branch of Assam Police. The Special Branch of Assam Police will scrutinise the proposal to determine if there are any fraudulent, coercive or illegal elements, check for the source of money expended towards the purchase, determine the implications for societal cohesion, and ensure national security. The proposal would then be sent back to the government with the final decision being taken by the District Commissioner," he further added.

This move is being seen as yet another bold action by the Assam government to curb the alienation of land from indigenous people to illegal migrants.

"NGOs from outside Assam requested land to set up institutions, we will take into account similar land sale possibilities for national security purpose, no such protocol for local NGOs," the chief minister said.

The Standard Operating Procedure incorporates a framework which will provide a process to ensure inter religious land transfers undergo a strict verification process.

As per the SOP, inter religious land sale proposals have to be submitted initially to the Deputy Commissioner of the districts. The Deputy Commissioner will scrutinise them and send them to the Revenue Department for examination by a nodal officer of appointment. Thereafter, the proposals will be sent to the Police Special Branch, which will conduct an in-depth inquiry to ascertain whether the transfer is fraudulent, coercive, or illegal, check the source of funds, and consider the social and security ramifications of the transaction.

One of the most important considerations that the Special Branch shall also evaluate is whether the transfer would be prejudicial to the local social fabric or result in any national security problem, after which the report will again be referred to the Deputy Commissioner who will make a final decision on granting or denying the proposal.