AIZAWL, May 25 � Discussing Bru issues with Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and his Cabinet colleagues, Union Home Minister P Chidambram expressed his satisfaction on the steps taken by the State Government to bring back the Bru refugees from Tripura.
Chidambaram said that 215 Bru families have returned so far and asked the Brus and the Mizos to live together in peace and harmony. He also asked the Bru refugees who are still in Tripura to return to Mizoram by October 2010.
Meanwhile, urging the Mizoram Government to use Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC), at Shillong, Chidambaram said that this will help better intelligence sharing and better coordination among the police forces of different States.
Reviewing the progress of Indo-Bangladesh border fencing, the Union Home Minister urged the concerned agencies to complete the whole process at the earliest. He also suggested that the State Government appoints a senior officer from the Secretariat to resolve all issues regarding claims for compensations and other related issues. Chidambaram also said that Border Security Force would be instructed to take the State administration into confidence in all border fencing issues including alignment.
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla informed the Union Home Minister that BSF has already identified the sites and the State PWD is working on the details regarding the construction of Border Outposts (BOPs).
The Union Home Minister was informed that the State PWD has already prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for 2,293 kms of road in the border area at an estimated cost of Rs 2,604.28 crore. The Union Home Minister assured that the project would be got sanctioned soon.
Regarding the State affairs, the Union Home Minister informed the State Government that the Ministry of Home Affairs would provide additional funds under the Modernization of Police Forces during 2010-11 to meet all security-related expenses.
Regarding import permission of foreign weapons for State Commando Units, the Union Home Minister suggested that a list of arms required be provided to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the materials would be made available in kind by the Ministry on Central procurement.
