The Assam government will review whether the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, can be withdrawn from the state in phases and will make recommendations to the Centre accordingly, The Times of India reported on Friday. The controversial law, which gives members of the armed forces sweeping powers, including the right to shoot on suspicion, has been in force in Assam since November 1990 when militancy was at its peak in the North East state.

The state government will present its recommendations to the Centre at a meeting of its Unified Command next week, the English daily reported. If the Act is withdrawn from parts of Assam, it is likely to have an impact on neighbouring Manipur, large parts of which also fall under the act.

Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Pallab Bhattacharya told TOI, “AFSPA has been in force in the state for 26 years. At the last meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the issue had been raised. There are demands from various quarters to lift this Act. We are taking a re-look...whether it can be withdrawn from some areas.”

The move to review the viability of AFSPA in Assam coincides with the Centre declaring the entire state a “disturbed area” for three more months. A region has to be declared a “disturbed area” first for ASFPA to be enforced. In a gazette notification on Friday, the Home Affairs Ministry said Assam and the bordering areas of Meghalaya will fall under the for three months effective from May 3, reported PTI. Usually, the “disturbed areas” tag is extended or withdrawn after every six months.

If the Act is withdrawn from Assam, these areas will fall under the purview of the Indian Penal Code. This would entail providing extra police support to the state, mostly in the form of raising more India Reserve Battalion teams for it, modernising the police force and providing more employment opportunities to the youth so they do not take to the gun.

The Act had been unofficially lifted from parts of the state as militancy had gradually been brought under control. The Army has been withdrawn from a number of districts, such as Jorhat, Majuli, Kamrup (Metro), Karimganj, Hailkandi and Lakhimpur, and replaced by paramilitary organisations.

Apart from Assam, the Act is in force in Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area), the districts of Tirap, Changlang, and Longding in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, areas along the Assam-Meghalaya border and Jammu and Kashmir.