Aizawl, March 3: Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga on March 2 informed the state Assembly that certain refugees taking shelter in the state had been found engaging in illegal commercial activities, with some individuals already facing stringent legal action.
Replying during the ongoing budget session, Sapdanga said the government had not received any official reports indicating large-scale violations. However, credible inputs suggested that a section of refugees had been running small businesses in violation of existing laws. He stated that authorities were actively probing such cases and that, depending on the nature of the goods involved, criminal proceedings had been initiated in several instances.
Providing details on the biometric enrolment exercise, the minister said 26,381 refugees from Myanmar had been registered as of February 5, while 1,974 individuals were yet to complete the process.
Mizoram currently hosts more than 38,000 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, apart from internally displaced persons from Manipur. A majority of the Myanmar nationals belong to the Chin tribe, which shares close ethnic ties with the Mizos. Refugees from Bangladesh largely originate from the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, while members of the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community from Manipur arrived following ethnic violence that broke out in May 2023.
Sapdanga said the government had proposed setting up designated relief camps or settlements, but implementation remained challenging as refugees were dispersed across different parts of the state. He noted that livelihood constraints often prevented them from staying in one location.
Reiterating the government’s position, the minister said that while Mizoram continued to extend humanitarian assistance, all residents, including refugees, were required to abide by the law.
