The authorities are planning to establish seven new villages near Maungtaw for the settlement of Rakhine people migrated to Rakhine State from Bangladesh. The move is to counter dominance of Muslims in Maungtaw. U Ye Htut, the head of General Administration Department of Maungtaw was quoted as saying by the 7 Days newspaper that his department has requested the central government for establishment of 10 new villages as a part of the Border Region development scheme, but approval got for only seven villages. Currently there are 120 villages in Maungtaw out of which only 30 are inhabited by Rakhine Buddhists. The extension of villages in Maungtaw was done for the first time in more than two decades. The new villages would be used to settle Rakhine people migrated from Bangladesh. The secretary of the Rakhine State government, U Tin Maung Swe, said the new villages will be use to settle Rakhine people who fled Bangladesh due to various reasons. He was quoted as saying in the San Taw Chein newspaper that the government would also provide financial assistance for the returnees apart from providing them with housing in the new villages. Rakhine people in the Bangladeshi side of the border are returning to Myanmar in a large numbers since 2012. Reference: 7 Days Daily no 1310 December 22, San Taw Chein Newspaper