Relief and Rehabilitation Assistance to Sri Lankan Refugees in the Refugee Camps

What is the Sri Lankan refugees relief and rehabilitation scheme?

This scheme is the humanitarian relief programme for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu, funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and delivered on the ground by the Government of Tamil Nadu. It supports people who fled the civil conflict in Sri Lanka and have been living for years; in many cases decades, in state-run rehabilitation camps.

According to public accounts of the arrangement, around 58,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees live in roughly 100 camps spread across the districts of Tamil Nadu. The relief they receive includes a monthly cash dole, subsidised or free rice and essential provisions, shelter within the camp, and basic amenities such as drinking water and electricity. The aim is to meet the day-to-day survival needs of a long-staying refugee population.

A defining feature of this scheme is that it is not something an individual applies for online. Relief is attached to registered residence in an official camp: once a refugee family is admitted to and recorded in a Tamil Nadu rehabilitation camp, the cash dole and rations follow automatically.

What relief does the scheme provide?

The relief package delivered in the camps typically covers:

• A monthly cash dole, a cash allowance paid to camp families, calculated by family composition (head of family, other adults and children).
• Rice and essential provisions, subsidised or free rice and other basics through the public distribution arrangement for camp residents.
• Shelter, accommodation within the camp; the Tamil Nadu government has also built permanent housing for refugees over the years.
• Basic amenities, drinking water, electricity and sanitation in the camps.
• Education and health access: refugee children attend local schools and camp residents use government health facilities.

On the cash dole, reported figures indicate the head of each refugee family receives a monthly allowance in the order of about Rs 1,000, with smaller additional amounts for other adult members and for children. Because these rates are set and periodically revised by the Tamil Nadu government, the precise current amounts should be confirmed with the camp administration or the state rehabilitation authorities rather than assumed from older figures.

Who is eligible for this relief?

You are covered if:

• You are a Sri Lankan refugee — predominantly Sri Lankan Tamils, who fled to India during or after the civil conflict.
• You are registered as a resident of a designated rehabilitation camp in Tamil Nadu.
• Your family particulars are recorded in the camp, which is how the cash dole and ration entitlement are calculated.

You cannot claim this specific relief if:

• You are a Sri Lankan refugee living outside the camps (some refugees live outside camps and are covered by different arrangements).
• You are a refugee or migrant of another nationality. This scheme is specific to Sri Lankan refugees in the Tamil Nadu camps.
• You are seeking citizenship or permanent resettlement, which are separate legal processes, not part of this camp relief.

How to apply for and access the relief

Because entitlement flows from camp residence, the process is administrative rather than an application form:

1. A Sri Lankan refugee is admitted to and registered in an official Tamil Nadu rehabilitation camp by the state authorities.
2. The family's particulars, head of family, adults and children; are recorded, which determines the cash dole and ration entitlement.
3. The monthly cash dole and provisions are disbursed to the family through the camp administration.
4. Any change in circumstances, or a grievance about the dole or amenities, is raised with the camp administration or the state rehabilitation authorities, not through a central online portal.

There is, in short, no citizen-facing online application for this scheme. The gateway is registration and residence in a camp.

Who funds and runs the scheme?

Responsibility is split between the centre and the state. The Ministry of Home Affairs provides the funds and reimburses the expenditure on refugee relief, while the Government of Tamil Nadu, through its rehabilitation set-up and camp administration, runs the camps and physically disburses the cash dole, rations and amenities. This is why the money and policy sit with MHA but the day-to-day contact point for a refugee is the state camp administration.

Why this scheme is different from other welfare schemes

Most welfare schemes on this site are benefits an Indian citizen applies for. This one is different in two important ways. First, its beneficiaries are refugees, not Indian citizens, so it is governed by humanitarian and home- affairs policy rather than ordinary welfare rules. Second, it is camp-based and automatic. The relief is a function of being a registered camp resident, not of submitting a claim. The most reliable, current information on cash dole rates, camp lists and any change in policy comes from the Tamil Nadu rehabilitation authorities and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which are the two bodies that between them fund and run the programme.