NEW DELHI, Jan 16: The
Centre today announced resolution of the Bru settlement
problem, with the government of Tripura agreeing to
settle 30,000 refugees. A
package of Rs 600 crore was
given to Tripura government
for settling 5300 refugees.
Flanked by Chief Minister
of Tripura Biplab Kumar
Deb, Chief Minister of
Mizoram Zoramthanga,
chairman of North East
Democratic Alliance (NEDA)
Himanta Biswa Sarma,
former Tripura PCC chief
Pradyut Dev Barman, Union
Home Minister Amit Shah
said that a 25-year-old problem has been resolved.
An agreement to this effect was signed by the representatives of various Bru civil
society groups and officials of
the Tripura government in
presence of officials of the
Mizoram government.
“We are solving this problem and the Tripura government will settle them permanently,” said Shah.
The package includes grant
of a plot of land to each family,
while government will make
a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh for
two years, besides Rs 5000
will be paid monthly for two
years. Tripura government
will provide the land, and Rs
1.5 lakh for construction of
houses, free ration for two
years, announced Shah.
However, at least 328 families who have shifted to
Mizoram will not be allowed
to return to Tripura though
the refugees now living there
will have the option of settling
down in Mizoram.
The Bru
refugees will be settled in
clusters depending on availability of land, said Shah.
The Brus, who are also
known as Reang, will enjoy
voting rights in Tripura and
would retain their Schedule
Tribe status in the State.
“With this the Bru refugee
problem will be settled permanently,” said Shah.
“We are solving the problems of Northeast one by one
because of the initiatives of the
Prime Minister,” said the
Union Home Minister.
The Reang people fled
Mizoram because of ethnic
clashes between the Nagas
and the Mizos in 1997 and
started living in Tripura.
On
July 3, 2018, a similar agreement was clinched between
Tripura and Mizoram but only
328 families opted to shift to
Mizoram making the agreement redundant.
Shah said that though the
package would be implemented by Tripura government, Centre would keep
track of its progress. These
people were living in inhuman
conditions, he added.
Describing the event as a
major achievement, the Union Home Minister further
referred to the surrender by
28 cadres of National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT)
(SD) with 50 automatic weapons, describing it as another
significant development.
Stating that the agreement
would send across a good
message, Mizoram Chief
Minister Zoramthanga said
that he was grateful to the
Ministry of Home Affairs. It
is because of the Centre’s initiative that such a solution has
become possible.
The NEDA chairman said
that the refugees would be
settled in more than one location. -Assam Tribune
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