It conveyed this in its report tabled in both houses of Parliament.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the government will go ahead with the bill to permanently solve the problem of infiltration to Assam from Bangladesh.
The committee, in its report, pointed out that a modest demographic change in both the countries is expected to take place after this agreement comes into force. "Not only would some Indian citizens return to the mainland from the previously held enclaves, but a number of current Bangladeshi nationals would also be given Indian citizenship after the area is ceded to India," said the committee.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2013, proposes exchange of 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India with 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh besides a proposal of India acquiring 2777.038 acres of land in its adverse possession, while Bangladesh will acquire 2267.682 acres in its adverse possession.
In the proposed transfer of land, only Assam does not get any land. Rather, 268.39 acres of its land shall be transferred to Bangladesh. While 2389.05 acres of land in West Bengal in adverse possession of Bangladesh will be acquired by Bangladesh, 1957.59 acres in adverse possession of India will be transferred to India in West Bengal. Similarly in Meghalaya, India loses 240.578 acres to Bangladesh but acquires 41.708 acre at different areas. India would acquire 138.41 acres in Tripura.
Protests have been strong and widespread within the state and inside Parliament since the previous UPA government introduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha in December, 2013. The bill was referred to the standing committee after AGP stalled the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP had paralyzed life in the state with a bandh call in protest against the bill. The All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) and several other organizations continue to oppose the bill.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who had accompanied former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in 2011 when the protocol to the Indira-Mujib Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 was signed, blasted Modi for making a U-turn on the land-swap deal.
"Modi, before the election, had said BJP would not let this (land transfer) happen. Today, he supports the same bill. It has been established now that Modi and BJP had made this an issue during election only to win the polls," Gogoi said on Monday.
The standing committee in its report stated, "The committee is of the strong opinion that the Constitution (One Hundred and Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2013, is in the overall national interest as it would pave the way for broader bilateral ties with one of our closest neighbours, Bangladesh. The committee is of a considered opinion that delays in the passage of the bill have needlessly contributed to the perpetuation of a huge humanitarian crisis. However, the committee is also sure that the difficulties of people living in the enclaves of both the countries would come to an end after the Act is passed by Parliament. The committee would, therefore, urge the government to take urgent steps for presenting the bill in Parliament without any further delay."
The committee suggested that a status report on rehabilitation of the returning Indian citizens should also be presented to Parliament, committee within six months after the agreement comes into force.
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