43 percent of Tripura's Bru refugees resettled; exercise likely to be completed by March

AGARTALA: Bru tribal people who are living in relief camps in Tripura for years will be rehabilitated permanently within the state by March 31, Union Minister of State for Social Empowerment & Justice, Pratima Bhoumik, said on Sunday. The Brus are originally from neighbouring Mizoram.

The rehabilitation of these people began in April last year and around 43 per cent of the 6,950 Bru families living in six relief camps in North Tripura district have already been resettled,.

"Bru refugees have started going to the designated places and the resettlement process is expected to be completed by March 31," Bhoumik said after a review meeting on the issue at Kanchanpur in the district.

Around 3,000 Bru families have already been resettled and 3,959 are still in the camps, an official said.

Altogether 162 acres of land will be required to resettle all the Bru families, according to an estimate by the Revenue department.

The rehabilitation of the Bru community people started on April 20 last year following an agreement signed in January 2020 among representatives of the community, the Centre and the governments of Tripura and Mizoram.

As per the agreement, each rehabilitated Bru family will get a 1200 square feet plot to build a house with an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh provided by the government. The agreement guarantees a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh for each family, a monthly sum of Rs 5,000 and free monthly ration for two years and schools in all cluster villages.

Once the resettlement is completed, Bru families will become permanent residents of Tripura and will be eligible to vote in the state.

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