Re-identification process for final Bru repatriation to begin

The ninth and final repatriation of Brus, lodged in six relief camps in neighbouring North Tripura district, is scheduled to be completed by October and the re-identification process would commence from Wednesday, a senior Mizoram home department official Saturday said.

Mizoram Home Secretary Lalbiakzama, who attended the meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group on Bru Repatriation held in New Delhi on Friday, told PTI that the road map for the repatriation prepared by the state government was accepted in the meeting.

The JMG comprises top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, senior home department officials of both Mizoram and Tripura governments and leaders of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF).

"The re-identification process, to be conducted by Mizoram government officials at the relief camps in Tripura would begin from July three and expected to be completed by July 20," Lalbiakzama said.

He said that along with the identification of bona fide residents of Mizoram, the officials would also conduct a head count to find out how many Brus are willing to return to Mizoram.

Those who return to the state would be provided a free ration and Rs 5,000 per month per family for a period of two years.

The president of the central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), Vanlalruata, and two representatives of the Bru civil societies in the relief camps also attend the meeting.

The repatriation process was scheduled to commence from September but it could defer to October, November or even December, depending on the rainfall, he said.

While 4,185 Bru families were proposed to be resettled in Mamit district, 822 Bru families would be resettled in 10 villages in Kolasib district and 371 families would be resettled in south Mizoram's Lunglei district.