Mizoram awaits biometric enrolment for Myanmar refugees amid portal hurdles

Aizawl, Dec 16: The Mizoram government is yet to start the collection of biometric data and enrolment of over 33,000 Myanmar refugees in the state, even as the Centre has set a deadline of December this year, a senior state Home department official said on Sunday.

The official explained that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the deadline for biometric enrolment due to multiple factors, including the recently concluded state Assembly elections and the parliamentary polls held earlier this year. "At present, we do not know when the exercise will begin," the official added.

He noted that the biometric enrolment portal created by the MHA is not suited for the Myanmar refugees in Mizoram as it is designed for refugees slated for deportation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured Mizoram Chief Minister LaIduhoma that the refugees would not be sent back until peace is fully restored in Myanmar, which remains embroiled in a civil war un- der military junta rule.

"We have written to the MHA to modify the portal to suit the current situation, and we are awaiting a response," the official said.

Although the state council of ministers, in a meeting on June 18, agreed to proceed with the biometric data col- lection, the Home department's concerns about the portal's inapplicability raised during the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government- have been deemed valid by the current administration.

The MNF government had earlier declined the MHA's instructions to begin biometric data collection in late 2023, citing the involvement of state officials in the Assembly elections held on November 7 and the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

Meanwhile, district officials across Mizoram's 11 districts have already gathered biographic data of the Myanmar refugees. Although profiling has been completed, temporary identity cards are yet to be issued to a few individuals, Home department officials said.

Currently, Mizoram is home to 33,036 Myanmar refugees, comprising 9,902 males, 10,501 females, and 12,633 children. Among them, 16,575 are housed in 126 relief camps spread across seven districts, while 16,461 reside outside these camps. The remaining four districts have no relief camps.