Shillong, Oct. 14: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) will meet the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) to chalk out a strategy to put pressure on the government to implement work permits in the state to check the entry of illegal migrants.

KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling today said despite several reminders, there had been undue delay in implementing the work permits in the state. “As student unions, the KSU and the GSU are concerned over the largescale presence of Bangladeshi migrants in the state,” said Dohling.

The KSU leader also said they have information that the state labour department is still examining the financial implications of implementing work permits in the state.

“We want the department to speed up the implementation process so that illegal migrants can be identified at the earliest,” Dohling said.

He mentioned that earlier the KSU and GSU held a round of talks to adopt measures to jointly fight the issue of influx which is gradually changing the demography of the indigenous people of both Khasi-Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills.

A cabinet sub-committee headed by urban affairs minister Paul Lyngdoh had submitted a comprehensive report on the need to implement work permits to the previous Congress-led government two years back.

Lyngdoh in his report had suggested the need to amend the present inter-state workmen regulation act, 1979 (amended in 1985). The committee also wanted the government to initiate compulsory registration of the labourers before issuing work permits.

According to the report of the cabinet committee on influx, work permits should be renewed after every 179 days to prevent the migrant workers from claiming the rights of permanent residents.

MPA spokesman and urban affairs minister Paul Lyngdoh said government was committed towards issuing work permits by the end of this year.

According to the minister, the introduction of the work permit system will prevent an Assam-like situation where the migrants have targeted the indigenous people.