Guwahati
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was instrumental in resolving the over two-decade-long Bru-Reang refugee issue, on Sunday visited one of their camps at Haduklau Para Bru Settlement Colony (BRUHA PARA) for the first time since the historic Bru settlement agreement of 2020.
Shah, who also virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 13 development projects worth Rs 668.39 crore, later addressed a gathering at the Kulai RF Village Ground in Dhalai District, wherein he said: “I am happier than you. Prime Minister Modi ji is also very happy that we could rehabilitate you.” Shah said the Central government, in association with the Tripura government, has been doing its best to rehabilitate the displaced Bru (Reang) families so that they can live with dignity in their homes.
“The people of the Bru-Reang community were living in very adverse conditions. They did not have water, electricity, toilet facilities. The CPI(M) ruled Tripura for 35 years and the Congress also ruled the state for many years, but they never worried about the plight of the people of the Bru-Reang community. After the BJP government was formed in Tripura, we settled 40,000 people and made excellent arrangements for education, and clean water.,” Shah said.
“We have made available 25 types of livelihood opportunities for you. These include animal husbandry, dairy, honeybee keeping and millet farming,” he told the settlers.
Lauding the achievements of the Tripura government under BJP rule, Shah compared the current situation to the time when the Left government ruled the state. “Under the Communist government, only 2.5% of households had access to potable water. Today, 85% of households are connected to clean drinking water facilities. Additionally, 85% of the State’s population receives free rations, and 80% are eligible for cashless medical treatment. The state has also seen a drastic reduction in school dropout rates, with enrolment increasing from 67% to 99.5%,” he said.
The Bru, also known as the Reang, are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) primarily residing in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam. While about 70 per cent of the Bru (Reang) tribals are Hindu, the remaining are Christians. Besides interacting with the villagers, the Home Minister visited several homes and enquired about people’s problems and the government benefits they were getting.
He assured a few residents who told him about not receiving their Ayushman Bharat health cards that all of them would get it within two days and instructed the district magistrate to ensure that. The refugees expressed happiness that their plight has changed. They said before the Central government took steps for their rehabilitation, the Bru refugees were living in very pathetic conditions. But now they have concrete houses, Aadhaar and voter cards, they informed him.
Tripura Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha, his predecessor Biplab Deb, Union Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau and Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) were also present.
Knowing The Bru-Reang Issue
- Due to ethnic violence in three districts of Mizoram namely Mamit, Lunglei and Kolasib in October 1997, a large number of minority Bru (Reang) families migrated to North Tripura in 1997-1998. Over 30,000 (5,000 families) Bru migrants were given shelter in six relief camps set up in Kanchanpur district of North Tripura.
- Repatriation of Brus to Mizoram started in 2010 and till 2014, as many as 1622 Bru families (8,573 persons) were repatriated in six batches and resettled in Mizoram.
- On 3rd July, 2018, an agreement was signed between the Government of India, Government of Mizoram, Government of Tripura and Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) for repatriation of 5,407 Bru families comprising 32,876 persons residing in temporary camps in Tripura.
- As a result, till 30.11.2019, 328 families comprising 1369 persons returned to Mizoram under the agreement. But there was a sustained demand of Bru families for their settlement in Tripura in view of their apprehensions about their security.
- Considering their demand and to arrive at a permanent solution to the long-standing issue of rehabilitating the Bru families, a new agreement was signed by the Government of India, Government of Tripura and Government of Mizoram with the representatives of Bru migrants on 16.01.2020 for a permanent settlement of 6,959 Bru families (37,136 persons) in Tripura with a financial assistance/package of around Rs. 661.00 crore.
- As per the Agreement, each resettled Bru family was to be given 30×40 sq. ft. of land and Rs. 1.5 lakh for construction of house, fixed deposit of Rs. 4 lakhs, Rs. 5,000/- cash assistance per month for two years and free ration for two years.
- A total of 12 locations covering 754 acres were identified in North Tripura, Dhalai, Gomati and South Tripura districts for establishing resettlement colonies of Bru tribals. While nine of these are on forest land, three are on government land.
- The final figure of families for rehabilitation under the agreement stands at 6,935 with a population of 37,584.
- Common development work like power lines, brick soling of internal roads, installation of deep tube wells for providing drinking water, building power infrastructure, connectivity to households, installation of solar street lights, opening of new fair price shops, anganwadi centres, schools and health sub-centres is almost complete in 11 locations.
- The common developmental work in the last approved resettlement colony, Kala Lawgang in South Tripura district, is going on and is likely to be completed by the end of this financial year.
- Overall, Rs 821.98 crore is being spent to resettle these families in the 12 colonies. And of the total amount, Rs 793.65 crore is being borne by the Union Home Ministry and Rs 28.34 crore by the State Government for common development works.
- The Home Ministry has so far released Rs 693.13 crore, of which Rs 406.42 crore went directly to the beneficiaries under the direct benefit transfer.
