In Ahmedabad, 90 Hindus from Pakistan, who had migrated to the city years ago, were awarded Indian citizenship by the district authorities at a function held today.

District Collector Vikrant Pandey handed over the certificates of Indian citizenship, issued in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, to them.

Through a gazette notification issued in December 2016, the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch in Gujarat were given powers to confer Indian citizenship to the applicants from the minority communities, such as the Hindus and the Sikhs, of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan living in Gujarat.

Pandey said, with today’s tally of 90, Ahmedabad became the leading district in the country with a total of 320 citizenships awarded since the new arrangement came into effect.

He said ninety per cent of the 320 applicants were from Pakistan, while the rest were from Bangladesh.

The collector said since these people were now Indian citizens, they could apply for Aadhaar, passport and various other benefits and their names will be included in electoral rolls.