While a team of district administration officials from both Mizoram and Tripura identified those below the age of 8 as minors, ration cards in Mizoram declared those above 12 as adults, necessitating fresh identification process.
"Wrong determination of the age for minors and adults created problems in arranging free ration to be provided to refugees for a year after being resettled in Mizoram," an official said.
He added that while Rs 9.97 crore sanctioned by the Centre for repatriation expenses was yet to be credited to Mizoram government's account, the state finance department has been making necessary arrangements to make the funds available.
He expressed hope that about 100 families would be repatriated soon after the re-identification process is over and another 400 families would be taken back in the fourth phase of rehabilitation.
After being repatriated, the refugees would be resettled in Damparengpui, Sihthiang, Tuipuibari, Tumpanglui, Khanthuam and Damdiai villages in Mamit district like the other families who have been rehabilitated in the district.
Majority of the Bru refugees, who fled Mizoram in the wake of the murder of a forest guard in October 1997, are from the district. A few families from Kolasib district bordering Tripura and Assam and Mizoram's Lunglei district also migrated to Tripura during the same period.
On the other hand, president of the central committee of Young Mizo Association (YMA), Lalchungnunga, had alleged that members of the Bru community migrated en masse to Tripura in 1997 after being intimidated and forced to leave the state by the Bru Students' Union (BSU) then led by Bruno Msha, now general secretary of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF).
The MBDPF is regarded as anti-repatriation organisation and the pro-repatriation groups like Bru Coordination Committee (BCC) accused the leaders of the former of misguiding the refugees to continue enjoying the benefits in relief camps.