Institutions, states should come together to prepare plan for welfare of tribals: Union minister

Union minister Arjun Munda has said that people from different states and institutions in the country should come together to chalk out a plan for the welfare of tribals.

The Minister of Tribal Affairs was speaking after inaugurating a two-day symposium – ‘Manthan’ – at Galtare in the Palghar district of Maharashtra on Thursday, the theme of which is the uplift of tribal communities. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu was also present on the occasion.

”All institutions and states should come together to prepare a plan for the welfare of tribals. A report should be prepared on the implementation and performance under the Scheduled Tribes Component (STC),” Munda said.

The STC was formed after a prolonged deliberation. Hence, its performance in different states needs to be evaluated, he added.

The representatives of the education ministries in the states doing a commendable job in regional languages under the National Education Policy should be roped in to form a five-member committee to explore the scope of work to be done by the tribal affairs ministry, he said.

The symposium focuses on various programs to be undertaken under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by Eklavya Model Residential Schools, Fees Control Authority, Grants Department, and Tribal Museums which organize ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ on the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagwan Birsa Munda, an official statement said.

It also includes discussions on Scheduled Tribe Component and health and education of the tribal population, it said, adding that tribal affairs ministers and the chief secretaries of different states and union territories are attending the symposium. Apart from Maharashtra, representatives of Tribal Welfare Departments from Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu are taking part in the symposium, the statement said.