AGARTALA: Will the Bru refugees finally go back to a more permanent settlement Mizoram? Well, yes, and no. Amid uncertainty, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) plans to complete the next phase of repatriation of Bru refugees sheltered in six camps of Kanchanpur in north Tripura to Mizoram by November this year.

MHA joint secretary (northeast affairs) Satyajit Garg, who held several rounds of meeting with Bru leaders at Kanchanpur, said recently, “We plan to complete the repatriation by November. A fresh demand of allotment of at least five hectares of land has been raised by the inmates, which was rejected by the Mizoram government and MHA doesn’t have any role to play in giving land to each family.”

He said the Mizoram government has submitted a Rs 68-crore project estimate for Bru resettlement in the state. Garg also made it clear that the Centre is committed to solving the 19-year-old impasse of Bru repatriation and will not hold any further discussion for negotiating the demands. He added, “If security and amenities, including livelihood of the inmates, are not ensured properly, the MHA will certainly intervene.”

Thousands of Bru families fled Mizoram and migrated to Tripura due to communal tension in 1997.

He said the Centre has agreed to provide a house under Indira Awas Yojana for each family, two years’ free ration, one-time cash compensation of Rs 80,000 to support establishment of enterprise, water supply, electricity and schools in the localities as demanded by the Brus earlier.

Garg said the schedule for repatriation was supposed to be over by August last year as directed by the apex court but for some reasons, it could not take place. However, the effort at present is to re-initiate the repatriation process as per the revised repatriation plan submitted by the government of Mizoram, which is time-rigid.

Bru leaders have reiterated their demand of cluster-based rehabilitation in 12 zones under Mamit district so that the community can live together fearlessly, retaining traditional practices and customs. But the demand was not accepted by the Mizoram government.

They pointed out that scattered rehabilitation of Brus in the past exposed them to regular threat to their livelihood, customs and social practices by the Mizos, who form the majority.

  Bru, Mizoram, Northeast, refugees, Tripura