SRINAGAR: Minister for Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana, today held an introductory meeting of the Tribal Affairs Department.
The Minister had an overall review of the achievements of the department towards the upliftment of the tribal population in J&K.
The meeting besides Secretary, Tribal Affairs was attended by the Secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department, Director, Tribal Affairs, Secretary, G&B Board and other concerned officers of the Department.
Javed Rana, who is also Minister for Forest, Ecology & Environment and Jal Shakti Departments, impressed upon the Department to make advance budget preparations and project formulations so that the releases are made on time for efficient utilization during the financial year.
He impressed upon the officers to make concerted efforts for swift implementation of the tribal projects and schemes to benefit the people at the lower strata of society.
The Minister further sensitized the officers to draft projects that are beneficial to community at large.
Javed Rana emphasised the need for formulation of more schemes related to Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy and Sheep development sectors which could widen the sphere of employment generation for tribal youth. He favoured for developing tourism in tribal areas by giving push to Homestays and raising of allied infrastructure there.
The Minister also took note of the progress made in establishment of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS). He called for identifying other areas, especially having no presence of such schools, to establish these educational institutions for the overall development of this population.
He called for keeping a portion of funds and schemes being implemented under UT or District Capex for the welfare of this population as per their proportion. He called for aiding the people belonging to this section in foraying into arenas like industries and commerce that are traditionally not being treated as their areas of strength.
Besides, the Minister preferred making provisions for creating housing colonies and flats for the tribal families. He made out that in order to accentuate the social status of this section of population the priority should be their inclusive growth in each area of the social and economic indicator.
The Minister directed the Department to make coordinated efforts for celebration of ‘Janjatiya Garv Diwas’ in the coming week. He stated that the day should be celebrated in a befitting manner with participation of majority of tribal population popularizing their culture, traditions, art, literature and unique architecture in vogue.
On the occasion, Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G, informed the meeting about the progress made and issues faced by the Department. He highlighted the need of human resources for smooth running of tribal hostels and the offices at district level. He enumerated the measures taken by the department for welfare of this population and those in pipeline.
Besides, several ongoing schemes and projects like construction of ST Hostels, Smart Classes, the establishment of income-generating units and raising of other public assets in tribal areas were highlighted. He detailed out the scholarship amounts being given to tribal students and the development of cluster model villages taken up by the Department.
Other schemes which came up for discussion included Pradhan Mantri Adi Aadarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY), Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Vikas Yojana (PMVDVY), functioning of Tribal Research Institute and the recently rolled out Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) here in J&K.
