"The government is of the view that conversion by force or allurement should not be allowed and we will bring in an anti-conversion bill," Singh told IANS.

He said the government was studying the anti-conversion bills of other states, including Rajasthan, to incorporate some of their provisions.

Refusing to give further details, Singh said the bill was still in its "preliminary stage".

A home department official, however, said: "There is likely to be a provision of 10-year jail term and monetary penalty of Rs.500,000 to Rs.1 million for those found guilty of illegal conversions."

He added that the government was determined to bring in the bill this year, possibly during the winter session of the state assembly.

An anti-conversion law is already in force in Chhattisgarh as the state retained the Freedom of Religion Act adopted by Madhya Pradesh in 1968.

But the government thinks its provisions need to be made more stringent by enacting its own law dealing with conversions. Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000.

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its affiliate body Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram allege that conversion of tribals in the state can be linked to money and other economic assistances offered by Christian missionaries.

They claim that the number of conversions has been on the rise especially in the under-developed regions of Surguja and Bastar.

Christians, however, deny converting tribal people by force or allurement. They allege the various anti-conversion laws have been enacted with the hidden intent to harass them and to spread hatred against their community.

Anti-conversion laws are also in force in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The Rajasthan assembly recently passed a similar bill, and it awaits the assent of the state governor.

Tamil Nadu revoked its anti-conversion law in May 2004.

There are a little more than 300,000 Christians in Chhattisgarh in a total population of 20.8 million.