Guwahati, July 24: The deadline for submission of NRC application forms was today extended by a month to August 31 by the state coordinator, National Register of Citizens, Assam. It, however, warned that no further extension would be possible.

The Supreme Court had fixed July 31 as the last date for submission of applications forms but allowed an extension while hearing a bunch of petitions concerning the NRC update and foreigners issue on Tuesday. It, however, did not set any new date for the extension.It also did not alter the date for publication of the final NRC, which remains January 31, 2016.

In a statement issued today, the office of the state coordinator said, "The last date for submission of application forms is extended upto August 31. Considering that the date of final publication of the updated NRC continues to be 1st January, 2016, no further extension of date would be possible under any circumstances. As such, members of the public are advised to ensure that they submit their application forms as soon as possible without waiting for the last date, which, if inadvertently missed, would not be considered under any circumstances."

It also said the online form submission facility had stabilised and could be easily availed. Yesterday, 11,417 application forms were submitted online. The NRC Seva Kendra (Barpeta 18) set up at Janapriya Club in Keotpara under Barpeta circle in lower Assam's Barpeta district has, however, completed the receipt of application forms allocated to it.

The next phase of the exercise would be field verification, followed by publication of the draft NRC, receipt and disposal of claims and objections and the final NRC.

Quoting Tuesday's orders of the Supreme Court, the statement said all Indian citizens, including their children and descendants, who may have moved to Assam subsequent to March 24, 1971 would be eligible for inclusion in the NRC on furnishing satisfactory proof of residence in any part of the country (outside Assam) as on March 24, 1971.

It also said the tea tribes would be eligible to be covered under the category of "original inhabitants of Assam" provided for in 3(3) of the schedule to The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The schedule lays down special provisions as to the manner of preparation of NRC in Assam. Inclusion of such original inhabitants would, however, be based on proof provided to the satisfaction of the registering authority.

There are no guidelines yet about who is an "original inhabitant" of Assam but for the purpose of NRC update, the registering authority will determine this going by parameters like names, way of living and practices. "Those guidelines are yet to come," an official said, adding that it would be issued by the Registrar-General of India.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi called upon the people of Assam to take the exercise of NRC update seriously and enrol their names with the documents available with them. He appealed to all to extend full cooperation for a correct NRC.