India hands over 250 houses to Myanmar's Rakhine State

India on Tuesday handed over 250 houses to the displaced Muslim minorities, who are currently residing in Myanmar's Rakhine State, under the Rakhine State Development Programme (RSDP) for USD 25 million for a period of five years.

"India handed over 250 pre-fabricated houses for use of displaced returnees, under its Rakhine State Development Programme worth the US $ 25 million, at a ceremony in Maung Daw, Rakhine State," External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar wrote on his official Twitter handle.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on RSDP was signed between India and Myanmar in December 2017 aiming to contribute to the socio-economic development in the northern Rakhine State.

Ambassador of India to Myanmar, Saurabh Kumar, handed over the documents related to 250 pre-fabricated houses for use of displaced returnees from Bangladesh, to U Aung Kyaw Zan, Joint-chairman of Returnee Resettlement Work Committee and the Minister for Electricity, Industry, and Transportation of Rakhine State Government, the MEA said in a statement.

"The construction of 250 houses was the first initiative under the RSDP and has been successfully completed. Another 22 proposals which include solar power related projects, construction-related projects, agriculture mechsation projects, and capacity building projects are presently under consideration," it read.

Due to rising violence against Rohingya in Myanmar, thousands of them have entered India and Bangladesh to seek refuge.

Around 40,000 Rohingya refugees reside in India after having fled persecution in Myanmar, out of which 16,000 are registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency.

On Monday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had criticised a top US lawmaker's proposal to merge Myanmar's restive Rakhine state into her country, saying it was an attempt to "start a fire in the region" and the move was "not acceptable".

On June 13, the proposal was placed in the US Congress for bringing Rakhine state in Myanmar under Bangladesh since millions of Rohingyas fled the Buddhist-majority country and taken refuge in the neighbouring nations.

Over 1.1 million Rohingyas have been forced to take shelter in Bangladesh's Cox Bazaar after Myanmar's armed forces, while responding to attacks by an armed group, launched a brutal campaign against the community in Rakhine state in 2017.

( With inputs from ANI )