New Delhi

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday lauded the government's decision to shift Rohingya refugees to Economic Weaker Section (EWS) flats in New Delhi.

India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country. In a landmark decision all #Rohingya #Refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs & round-the-clock @DelhiPolice protection. @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/E5ShkHOxqE

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 17, 2022

Around 1,100 Rohingyas staying in tents will be shifted into flats equipped with basic facilities and round-the-clock security.

The decision has been taken after a high-level meeting over the accommodation of Rohingyas in the national capital was held. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Secretary of Delhi and was attended by senior officials of the Delhi government, Delhi Police and Ministry of Home Affairs.

In the meeting that was held during the last week of July, it was emphasised that the Delhi government was bearing around Rs 7 lakh per month rent for the tents where Rohingyas were shifted in the Madanpur Khadar area after a fire incident happen in the camp where they were living.

These refugees will now be shifted to New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) flats in Bakkarwala village of Outer Delhi. There is a total of 250 flats belonging to the EWS category where all 1,100 Rohingyas, currently residing in the Madanpur Khadar camp, will be accommodated," said a senior official.

In the meeting, Delhi Police were instructed to provide security to the premises where these flats are located and the Social Welfare department of the Delhi Government had been ordered to ensure basic facilities like a fan, three times meals, landline phone, television and recreational facilities in the new campus.

Delhi government has been ordered to equip the flat with basic amenities and hand it over to FRRO (Foreign Regional Registration Offices) which will felicitate the shifting of Rohingya into these flats.

Rohingya Muslims are described by the United Nations as the most persecuted minority in the world.

They fled their homes in 2017 to escape an alleged crackdown by Myanmar's military.

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Despite not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, India has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world.