Agartala: The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) is set to propose the creation of new village councils in the recently established Bru settlements, considering the population and other essential parameters.
This was announced by Tipra Motha Founder and Chairman of TTAADC Advisory Committee, Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, during a press conference on Friday.
He said, “The Chief Executive Member of TTAADC PC Jamatia will forward the proposal to the state government. The state election commission will also be informed as it conducts the elections and preparations of the electoral rolls before the polls. The VC elections are supposed to be held very shortly and if we have to wait for a month to get the process of new voter enrollment from the Bru settlements completed, we are ready to wait for that. The elections are due for the last four years. A month or two would make no major difference.”
It is noteworthy that the Bru migrants have been resettled in 12 locations across eight districts of the state.
Debbarman’s decision came in response to a letter from Bru leaders requesting the TTAADC to establish new village councils in the Bru settlements that were created as part of the quadripartite agreement.
The central government announced a Rs 600 crore package for the resettlement of displaced Brus, who had taken shelter in six relief camps in Tripura since 1997. For nearly 23 years, these displaced Brus were forced to live in government-funded relief camps after fleeing their homeland in Mizoram due to ethnic clashes.
In March 2020, the quadripartite agreement was signed under which Brus was assured permanent citizenship of Tripura.
“The Bru migrants living in the relief camps submitted the proposal to form new village councils for their new settlements based on their population. I feel this is a genuine demand. A letter for Naisingpara and Khansapara was submitted. I think new VCs must come up in all the settlements with desirable populations,” said Debbarman.
According to the residents of Naisingpara, the absence of a dedicated village council has adversely affected governance in their Bru migrant community.
“We, the undersigned members of the Bru Resettlement Youth, on behalf of the residents of Naisingpara, write to bring to your attention the urgent need for the creation of a new Village Council at Naisingpara. The lack of a dedicated Village Council for our area has led to numerous administrative challenges and has hindered the effective governance and development of our community,” a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Member, TTAADC reads.
The letter further added: “Naisingpara has grown significantly in population and requires a separate Village Council to ensure that our community’s needs are adequately represented and addressed. The current administrative set up does not reflect the demographic realities and has left our community without a proper channel for voicing our concerns and accessing essential services. In light of this, we earnestly request the creation of a new Village Council at Naisingpara to address these pressing issues. We believe this will greatly contribute to the welfare and development of our community.”
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The letter, undersigned by Herbert Debbarma, Secretary of the Naisingpara Settlement Committee, also threatened to boycott the upcoming village council elections if their demands were not addressed.
“However, we must express our strong dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs and the lack of responsiveness to our previous requests. If our demand for the creation of a new Village Council at Naisingpara is not fulfilled, we regret to inform you that we will have no choice but to boycott the upcoming elections. Additionally, we will prevent the existing Village Council members from participating in the voting process as a form of protest against the ongoing neglect of our community’s needs. We trust that you will take our concerns seriously and act swiftly to address them. We look forward to a positive response and hope that the administration will work with us to ensure the equitable development of Naisingpara,” it concluded.
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