Stating that the conditions at the Matia detention centre for refugees are “far from satisfactory”, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Assam government to improve the facilities within a month, reported Live Law.

The detention centre, in Goalpara, became operational in January 2023. It is the largest detention centre in India. As of September 18, it held 274 inmates.

On October 4, the top court directed the Assam Legal Services Authority to make surprise visits to inspect the living conditions of refugees at the detention centre.

On Monday, a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Augustine George Masih noted that the detailed report submitted by the Legal Services Authority pointed out that even basic amenities are lacking at the detention centre.

Oka also noted that there are no vocational training centres, a female doctor or provisions for distance education.

“We direct the secretary in charge of the concerned department of the state to immediately make a visit to detention camp, hold a meeting with all concerned authorities and ensure that all facilities are in place in detention camp within maximum period of one month from today,” said the court. “Even the Secretary of the Legal Services Authority shall be invited to the meeting.”

The matter, including the issue of deportation of foreign nationals, is set for hearing on December 9.

In July, the court had rapped the state government for the “sorry state of affairs” at the centre, including inadequate water supply and the lack of proper toilets. It also said that the quality of food being served to refugees needs to be assessed, along with the availability of healthcare services.

This came in response to a report from the secretary of the Assam Legal Services Authority on the living conditions of the inmates.

Most of the detainees – 102 Rohingya and 32 Chin – are refugees from Myanmar who had fled persecution.

The court was hearing a plea concerning the deportation of declared foreigners living at the camp and the facilities provided to the inmates.

On September 10, the court ordered the Assam government to submit a plan for the deportation of the 211 declared foreigners.

More than a hundred Rohingya and Chin refugees from Myanmar, including children and women, launched a hunger strike in the camp on September 9, Scroll reported.

The refugees, who have cards issued by the United Nations’ refugee agency have been demanding that they be handed over to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, transferred to a detention centre in Delhi and have sought eventual resettlement in a third country.

A person in touch with the refugees had told Scroll that the quality of the food being served to the inmates was substandard and the centre had poor hygienic conditions, as highlighted in the Assam State Legal Services Authority’s report submitted to the Supreme Court on August 14.

Also read: Myanmar refugees launch hunger strike, seek transfer from Assam detention centre