BEIRUT, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh Gharib said Sunday that refugees in Lebanon are costing around 330 million U.S. dollars yearly in electricity and 50 million dollars in water, local media reported.

"The flow of a great number of Syrian refugees to Lebanon have had severe security, economic and social impact on Lebanon," Gharib was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.

Gharib emphasized the need to secure the return of refugees to their homeland by adopting a serious strategy for this purpose.

"The Ministry for Refugee Affairs should be the only official entity responsible for dealing with these issues and we will submit a strategy to the government in this regard very soon," he said.