Aizawl: According to an official statement issued on Saturday, the Central Government has agreed to provide rice worth ₹10 crore to assist approximately 40,000 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as people displaced from Manipur who have sought shelter in Mizoram.
This assurance was given after Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma raised the issue during a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Friday.
During the meeting, Lalduhoma highlighted the humanitarian burden placed on the state in sheltering thousands of refugees and displaced persons. He informed the Union Home Minister that Mizoram is currently sheltering around 40,000 people, comprising refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and those displaced by ethnic violence in Manipur.
The Chief Minister stated that despite limited resources, the state government is making continuous efforts to provide humanitarian aid, and he urged the Centre to provide additional assistance.
Responding to this request, Shah assured that the Centre would provide rice worth ₹10 crore to help strengthen relief operations and meet the food requirements of those sheltered across the state.
According to officials, over 28,000 refugees from Myanmar—mostly belonging to the Chin community—have sought shelter in Mizoram since the military coup in the neighboring country in February 2021.
Additionally, around 2,300 people from the Bawm community arrived in Mizoram from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh following military operations against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022.
The state is also sheltering approximately 7,000 Kuki-Zo people who were displaced from Manipur after ethnic violence erupted in May 2023.
The Chin, Bawm, and Kuki-Zo communities share close ethnic and cultural ties with the Mizo people, a factor that has contributed to the state’s humanitarian response. Several issues concerning development and security in Mizoram were also discussed during the meeting. Lalduhoma urged the Centre to provide financial assistance under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme to help strengthen the state’s efforts against drug trafficking and cybercrime.
He pointed out that, unlike several other Northeastern states, Mizoram has not yet benefited from this scheme, primarily due to its relatively peaceful security situation. In response, Shah advised the state government to submit additional proposals under the PM-DeVINE (Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East Region) scheme and assured assistance in taking these projects forward.
