West Bengal sets CAA citizenship target of 2.5 lakh

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state would expedite Citizenship Amendment Act hearings and grant citizenship to 2.5 lakh petitioners by December 31, 2026, setting a target that has not yet been shown to have been met. A state notification also assigned 12 Indian Administrative Service officers to support processing in two districts with large Matua populations. Adhikari announced the target on November 1 at the International Matua Gosai Convention in Thakurnagar, North 24 Parganas district. He said about 25,000 people had received citizenship under the CAA in West Bengal so far. That figure was his estimate, rather than an independently established count in the reporting. The state Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department assigned the 12 officers for two months in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. They are to coordinate with district administrations on CAA-related applications, including document verification, hearings and legal reviews. The notification sets out the assignments but does not report how many applications have been processed. The CAA provides a route to Indian citizenship for eligible members of specified religious minorities...