At a recent meeting in the capital, state ministers for tribal affairs backed a plan to run special projects in 54 identified tribal pockets, aimed at improving the lives of tribal populations and ensuring that funds earmarked for tribals are not diverted
A number of Indian states are expected to come out with a special monitoring scheme to check the diversion of funds earmarked for tribals, and to ensure time-bound implementation of various tribal schemes. State tribal affairs ministers have also agreed to run special projects in 54 identified tribal pockets that have low female literacy rates, and will initiate action plans to develop the habitats of primitive tribes. The states agreed to give high priority to students from scheduled tribes (STs) and help prepare them for study at prestigious institutes, in a scheme in which the Centre will fund their studies. These and a slew of other measures aimed at tribal development were announced after a meeting of state ministers for tribal affairs in New Delhi on February 14, 2007.
Inaugurating the meeting, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs P R Kyndiah voiced his concerns over the lack of allocation of funds for tribal welfare schemes in some states. He said that the Tribal Sub-Plan, which had fallen into disuse over the years because of non-implementation by state governments, would be revived. States have been asked to create a separate head for the Tribal Sub-Plan -- first started in 1974 -- so that funds under the plan could not be diverted.
Under the Tribal Sub-Plan, the states are supposed to earmark funds exclusively for the welfare of STs in proportion to the population of scheduled tribes. Kyndiah said his ministry had written to the Planning Commission not to clear the annual plan for the year 2007-08 for states that had failed to implement the Tribal Sub-Plan. He also urged states to implement tribal welfare programmes in a focused and integrated manner.
In a briefing on the Centre's latest initiatives, Kyndiah said that the ministry had identified 75 primitive tribal groups that would receive insurance coverage under the Life Insurance Corporation's Jaishree Bima Yojana. A scheme for development of their habitat has also been drawn up.
The ministry has decided to involve banks in giving loans for income-generation under the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation. Earlier, loans were disbursed only through the State Scheduled Tribes Finances Corporation that often faced a shortage of funds. Self-help groups would also be involved in disbursing loans at low rates of interest.
The minister expressed his hope that these measures would help prevent tribals from falling into the debt trap.
Sufficient funds have been provided under a special programme to provide 100% financial assistance to the states to take up minor irrigation schemes for scheduled tribes.
Underlining the importance of the recently-passed Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, Kyndiah said that the ministry of tribal affairs had constituted a 19-member committee to draft the rules within three months so that the Act could be implemented.
Headed by retired bureaucrat S R Sankaran, the panel will include officials from the ministries of tribal affairs, forests and environment, rural development and panchayati raj, besides representatives from state governments and experts.
The Forest Rights Bill was passed during the winter session of Parliament and received the President's assent on December 29, 2006. It will be another month before it is actually finalised and implemented, according to Union Tribal Affairs Secretary Meena Gupta.
The 2006 Act recognises and vests forest rights and occupation of forest land with scheduled tribes and other traditional forest-dwellers who have been living in the forests for generations but whose rights have never been recorded.
Gupta said the ministry would also develop over 2,700 forest villages, and an amount of Rs 15 lakh per village had been earmarked for the purpose. As many as 13 states would be covered under this scheme that seeks to provide roads, electricity and water to the villages.
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