New Delhi: The central government is very serious about getting the tribal community in the main stream and has doubled its allocation to Rs 78,256 crores for the various welfare schemes stated Shri S. Subramanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Speaking at a media briefing organised in Delhi, he mentioned that the government has been taking pro-active steps to ensure that the resources are delivered for the upliftment of the most vulnerable sections of the society like the Dalits, Tribals, the elderly and migrant workers.
He said that the allocation will be distributed amongst 41 ministries and departments of the government. “The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will ensure that the amount gets completely utilised in a better manner for the welfare of the community,” he said.
“The flagship project of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) is set up in all corners of the country. 750 EMRS is expected to be set up this financial year with a cost of Rs 38 crores for each of them. In hilly and difficult areas, the budget is going to go up to Rs 48 crores,” Shri Subramanyam informed. He added that these schools would provide quality education, better infrastructure and therefore, enhance the quality of living of the tribal community.
“Around 3.5 lakh students would directly benefit from these EMRS schools. The Ministry is also taking steps to ensure that the allocation of land for setting up these schools happens smoothly across the country,” He said. Currently, there are 285 fully functional EMRS schools in the country.
According to the Secretary, the proposed university at Ladakh would give a huge boost to the welfare of the tribal community. “Almost 80 per cent of the population there belongs to the tribal community. There would be an enhancement in the quality of life for the people living there and the students in the region would benefit immensely,” He explained. Though the higher education is out of the purview of the ministry, we will see how we can create some sort of a synergy between the ministry and education authorities at the centre, he said.
In the budget for the Post Matric Scholarship, the allocation for the Scheduled Tribe is Rs 21.46 billion, while the same for the Scheduled Community is Rs 38.66 billion, he said.
Shri Subramanyam informed that for the tribal migrant workers, the government’s One Nation One Ration Card scheme will be most beneficial to the families of workers left behind to claim rations anywhere in the country. “The Scheme implementation so far covered 86% of beneficiaries across 32 States and UTs and the remaining 4 states to be integrated in the next few months,’ he said.
The Secretary Shri Subramanyam also elaborated that the Portal to collect information on the unorganized migrating labour force, migrant workers especially will provide support to help formulate schemes for them. The implementation of 4 labour codes is also underway,” he added.
He also thanked the government on reducing the margin money requirement to 15 per cent from the earlier 20 per cent under ‘Stand Up India Scheme’ for SCs, STs and women.
