TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA - Bhurel Lal's perspectives

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TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA - Bhure Lal

On Sunday, May 23, 2010 10:28:15 PM UTC+5:30, tutulu wrote:

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

Bhure Lal*

    The Scheduled Tribes (STs) according to the 1991 Census account
for 67.76 millions representing 8.08 per cent of the country's
population. They are spread across the country mainly in the forest
and hilly regions. More than 70 per cent of the ST population is
concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat. The essential characteristics of
these communities are primitive traits, geographical isolation,
distinctive culture, shyness of contact with communiies at large and
backwardness.

    The founding fathers of the Indian constitution were aware of
their problems. Therefore, they made special provisions for their
protection and development. The main safeguards include promotion of
educational and economic interests and their protection from social
injustices and all forms of exploitation. The constitution protects
the general rights of all Indian citizens to move freely, settle
anywhere and acquire property. It also permits the States to make
reservation in public services in case of inadequate representation
and requiring them to consider their claims in appointments to public
services. The constitution provides special representation for the STs
in the Lok Sabha and State legislative assemblies till 25th January,
2010 (Arts, 330, 332 and 334) and enjoins the setting up of separate
departments in the States and National Commission at the Centre to
promote their welfare and safeguard their interests (Arts 164 and
338). Special provision for administration and control of Schedule
Areas and Tribal Areas (Art. 224, Fifth and Sixth Schedules) and grant
-in-aid to the States to meet the cost of such schemes of development
as may be undertaken by them for promoting the welfare of the Schedule
Tribes or raising the level of Schedule Areas (Art. 275 (1) are also
guaranteed. Later on with a view to effectively deal with the crimes
against the Scheduled Tribes two special laws, viz., Protection of
Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 were enacted.

    Special economic development of the Scheduled Tribes and
protection against their exploitation has been an important agenda of
the Government. To ensure that the constitutional mandates listed
above and translated into various policies and programmes and put into
effective action, high priority for the welfare and development of
Scheduled Tribes right from the beginning of the First Five Year Plan
(1952-57 is being accorded. Recognising their special problems the
principles of Panchsheel have been adopted in the welfare and
development of these communities so as to ensure an understanding of
their culture and traditions and an appreciation of the social,
psychological and economic problems with which they are faced. An
important landmark was opening of 43 Special Multi-purpose Tribal
Blocks (SMPTBs) during the Second Five Year Plan, later called Tribal
Development Blocks (TDBs), each having about 25000 people as against
65000 in a normal block. An amount of Rs.15.0 lakh per SMPTB was
contributed by the Central Government. Further, an important step in
this direction was taken during the Fourth Five Year Plan when six
pilot projects in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa
were set up in the Central sector. A separate Tribal Development
Agency was established for each project and an amount of Rs.2.0 crore
was allotted to these agencies. Commissions and Committees appointed
by the Government to review the tribal situation brought to its notice
that the percolation theory had not helped the tribals in getting
their due share and the backward classes sector had substituted
general sectors instead of supplementing them and viewed that much
more was still needed to be done to bring up the STs on par with the
general population of the country.

Tribal Sub-Plan

    The Fifth Five Year Plan marked a shift in the approach when the
Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) for direct benefit of the STs was launched. The
Tribal Sub-Plan for the Scheduled Tribes was designed to channelise
the flow of outlays and benefits from the general sectors in the plans
of the States and Union Territories (UTs) and Central Ministries in
proportion to their population both in physical and financial terms.
It is an umbrella under which all schemes implemented by the States
and Central Governments are dovetailed for addressing different needs
of the Scheduled Tribes.

    It is basically an area development programme with focus on
tribals under which infrastructural development and family-oriented
programmes are undertaken. The strategy has been successful in
garnering larger flow of funds for the development of Scheduled Tribes
from Rs. 759 crore during the Fifth Five Year Plan to about Rs.
16902.66 crore by the end of the Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97).

    The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, besides providing Special Central
Assistance, which is an additive to the Tribal Sub Plan of the States
and UTs and grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution for
raising the level of infrastructure in the Scheduled Areas and
economic development of the Scheduled Tribes to the level of general
population, is also implementing various Centrally-sponsored and
Central sector schemes under which financial assistance ranging from
50 per cent to 100 per cent is given to the States and UTs for
construction of hostels and coaching of ST students for competitive
examinations, upgradation of their merit, research and training,
setting up of ashram schools, vocational training centres, village
grain banks, educational complexes for ST girls in low literacy
pockets and development of primitive tribal groups. Besides, non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) have also been involved in the
development of STs. Their developmental and financial needs are being
taken care of over and above the credit available through priority
sector lending of banks and other institutions by the NSFDC.

    With the prime objective of providing marketing assistance and
remunerative prices to tribals for their minor forest produce (MFP)
and surplus agricultural produce (SAP) and to wean them away from
exploitative private traders and middlemen, the Tribal Cooperative
Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) was set up by the Government
in the year 1987. The TRIFED has ensured remunerative prices for the
MFP to tribals.

    While these achievements are a matter of some satisfaction as
various development plans, policies and programmes have brought forth
a perceptible improvement in the socio-economic status of the
Scheduled Tribes a lot more needs to be done with concerted focus on
the issues crucial to improve their status on par with the rest of the
population. These are: prevention of land alienation from tribal to no-
tribal, review of National Forest Policy and Forest (Conservation) Act
1980, taking into consideration symbiotic relationship the tribals are
having with forest, provision of clean drinking water and medical
facilities, effective rehabilitatiion of the tribals displaced on
account of setting up of development projects and legal measures to
crub the activities of money lenders and traders by effective
implementation of laws and regulations. Women play a significant role
in tribal society: their empowerment with upgradation of their skills
is one of the issues to be addressed urgently. To look into these
issues and further focus attention on the development of tribals the
Government has set up separate Ministry under the charge of a Cabinet
Minister. The Government is working hard towards a new social order
based on social equality and social harmony