A group of insurgency-induced displacement victims Monday submitted a
memorandum to West Tripura District Magistrate Sandeep Namdeo Mahatme
and sought ‘Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) status for 6,500
families, who were rendered homeless due to an armed tribal insurgency
in the last two decades.
As per the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement, people who were forced or obliged to flee their homes or
places of habitual residence to avoid the effects of armed conflict,
situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or
natural or human-made disasters but did not cross internationally
recognized State borders are termed as Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP).
Speaking to reporters, West Tripura and Sepahijala District Udbastu
Unnayan Committee secretary Sajal Podder said that insurgents who sought
to secede Tripura from Indian Union were granted rehabilitation
packages upon surrendering arms. However, those whose lives were
affected due to insurgency have been homeless for the last two decades.
“If the insurgents can be granted rehabilitation packages, why not
us? We didn’t commit any crime. We are homeless since 2000. We want the
government to grant housing benefits to all of us,” Podder said.
He also informed that the erstwhile CPI (M)-led Left Front government
provided housing to 202 families who lost their homes in armed
insurgency along with some cash assistance.
“We want the government to ensure proper rehabilitation facilities
and Rs 5 lakh one-time cash compensation to each family which were
displaced due to insurgency. We also demand that families rendered
homeless due to armed insurgency should be granted the status of
refugees,” Sajal Podder said.
Over 6,500 non-tribal families have been displaced due to armed
insurgency and ethnic clashes in different parts of Tripura since 1980.
Some of them were displaced more than once due to insurgency or
development projects. At least 237 families among them have been
rehabilitated so far. 55 families, which got their new homes at Udbastu
Gopal Colony, have their ancestral homes at Gabardi, Takarjala,
Jampuijala and Mandwai villages, which faced severe brunt of ethnic
clashes.
Earlier in 2017, the erstwhile Left Front government allotted them a
colony of nearly 70 thousand square ft area at South Narayanpur village
in Mohanpur sub-division of West Tripura. The colony was occupied by 55
refugee families this month. Every family was given entitlement of a
small plot of 840 square ft with provisions for a small room and a
makeshift toilet.
