NEW DELHI: Seeking to put an end to the 23-year-old Bru-Reang refugee crisis, a quadripartite agreement was signed among the Centre, state governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives on Thursday to facilitate permanent settlement of Bru refugees in Tripura with a Rs 600-crore rehabilitation package.
The agreement will benefit around 34,000 Bru persons currently living in six camps in Tripura. They were forced to flee from Mizoram following ethnic tension in 1997.
Home minister Amit Shah presided over signing of the “historic” pact. Others present included Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga, North-East Democratic Alliance chairman Himanta Biswa Sarma, Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma and Bru representatives.
Committed to the development of the Northeast and its citizens! Todays agreement will greatly help the Bru-Reang… https://t.co/YHOtxmCsRW
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1579192521000
Shah said that a permanent solution to the issue could be arrived at under the “dynamic leadership of Shri Narendra Modi”. “Bru-Reang people in Tripura can now look towards a bright future,” he said adding that around 34,000 Bru refugees would get residential plots to settle in Tripura, apart from all rights of normal residents and also be eligible for benefits of social welfare and entitlement schemes of the Centre and state government.
While a tripartite pact was signed by the Centre, Mizoram government and Bru representatives in 2018 envisaging repatriation of displaced Bru refugees to Mizoram, barely 328 families returned to Mizoram. The rest, having been living in Tripura for close to three decades, were reluctant to move out.
The Centre thus started fresh negotiations to find a solution to the Bru peoples demand that they be allowed to settle down in Tripura.
The home minister told newspersons that as per the new agreement, each of the Bru families living in TrRead More – Source
