Aizawl, Feb 23,2026: Mizoram is currently providing shelter to 38,059 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, State Home Minister K. Sapdanga informed the Legislative Assembly on Monday.
In a written reply to a question raised by ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) legislator V.L. Zaithanzama, the Home Minister said that biometric enrolment of refugees from Myanmar is being carried out by district administrations across all 11 districts. As of February 5, 93.04 per cent of the enrolment process had been completed. He expressed hope that the exercise would be concluded shortly.
Sapdanga further informed the House that biometric registration of refugees from Bangladesh is also in progress and is expected to be completed within the next few months.
However, officials of the Home Department indicated that the pace of biometric enrolment has slowed in recent weeks. According to them, the process has remained stalled since January in six districts- Siaha, Kolasib, Mamit, Khawzawl, Saitual and Hnahthial — despite most of these districts having comparatively smaller refugee populations.
Among these, Siaha district in southern Mizoram hosts 3,195 refugees from Myanmar, making it the fourth highest in terms of refugee concentration in the state. The remaining five districts have refugee numbers running only into three digits. Officials said they were not aware of the reasons behind the lack of progress in these districts over the past nearly two months.
Data provided by the Home Department shows that there are 28,355 refugees from Myanmar currently residing in various districts of Mizoram. Of these, 26,592 individuals, or 93.78 per cent, have already undergone biometric enrolment.
The enrolment process has been fully completed in Aizawl, Lunglei, Serchhip and Champhai districts. Apart from these, only Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram recorded progress recently, with district authorities enrolling 211 refugees during the past week.
With regard to refugees from Bangladesh, Lunglei, Serchhip and Aizawl districts, which host 235, 76 and seven refugees respectively, have completed their biometric registration. In contrast, Lawngtlai district, which shelters 2,042 refugees from Bangladesh, has made little headway in initiating the enrolment process.
The government has not specified a revised timeline for completion in the districts where the exercise has slowed, but officials maintain that efforts are ongoing to bring the remaining beneficiaries under the biometric system.
