Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra on Tuesday clarified in the Lok Sabha that conferring citizenship on refugees from Sri Lanka was not part of the mandate of the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene accord signed between India and Sri Lanka in 1987.
He made this statement in a written reply to an unstarred question raised by D. Ravikumar, Member of Parliament representing Villupuram, who sought details about those who got citizenship under the 1987 accord.
To a question on whether the Union Government had any proposal to increase the amount of cash dole for the refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu, the Union Minister answered that the dole was considered “for revision from time to time.” He told the House that the Tamil Nadu Government had decided to construct 7,469 houses for the refugees.
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Asked about the details of amenities given to refugees belonging to various countries, Mr. Mishra said the amenities, including cash dole, could not be compared with one another as the scheme for rehabilitation of refugees from various countries was “guided by the requirement of that particular community, area of their settlement and other considerations.”