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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | So who’s here for the tribals? by NC Saxena

So who’s here for the tribals? by NC Saxena

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published Published on Feb 16, 2011   modified Modified on Feb 16, 2011
Tribal communities are vulnerable not only because they are poor, assetless and illiterate compared to the general population, their distinct vulnerability arises from their inability to negotiate and cope with the consequences of their forced integration with the mainstream economy, society, and cultural and political system. The repercussions for the already fragile socio-economic livelihood base of the tribals have been devastating—ranging from loss of livelihoods, land alienation on a vast scale, to hereditary bondage.

Persistent problems faced by tribals—land alienation, indebtedness, government monopoly over minor forest produce and the non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, among others—have by and large remained unattended to. These issues are under the jurisdiction of ministries of environment & forests, rural development, panchayati raj, etc, where they do not get adequate attention. The current approach of the ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) is to confine its attention to its own budget and the schemes that are under its control, such as grants to NGOs, scholarships, etc. MoTA does not put any pressure on other ministries that have been vested with the responsibility to ensure that basic justice and development reaches them. MoTA does not even monitor whether the basic services in education, health or nutrition are reaching the tribal hamlets.

MoTA is not able to spend even the limited budget allotted to it (see table) and has surrendered large funds every year in the last 5 years, especially in 2009-10. Because of the poor expenditure by MoTA in 2009-10, there has been little increase in the allocation in 2010-11. Non-receipt of adequate number of complete proposals in accordance with the scheme guidelines from the state governments, non-receipt of utilisation certificates, non-filling of vacant posts, etc, have been cited as the reasons for the surrender of funds.

Apart from poor utilisation of funds, tribals have also suffered because of the poor quality of governance. Programme delivery has deteriorated everywhere in India, but more so in tribal areas, where government servants are reluctant to work and are mostly absent from their official duties. Government seems to have surrendered to political pressures from the staff, as many of their posts have now been officially transferred from tribal regions to non-tribal regions, where they can draw their salaries without doing any work! A study by Unicef on Jharkhand found that one of the main constraints that the National Rural Health Mission in the state faces is the lack of skilled manpower. In the two districts visited, Sahibganj has less than 50% positions in place, while in East Singhbhum, with its better infrastructure, it is just around 54%.

MoTA was asked to oversee the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), but a recent study (available on http://fracommittee.icfre.org) shows that the ministry has failed to get FRA implemented faithfully. Despite the fact that the main intention of FRA was to promote community participation and management, the study shows that community rights over minor forest produce (MFP), etc, have been recognised in negligible cases.

MoTA’s record on other tribal issues is equally dismal. MoTA has still not been able to finalise the National Tribal Policy, the draft of which was announced some six years ago with a great deal of fanfare. The law pertaining to involuntary displacement has been discussed since 1998, but it has still not seen the light of the day, though it is well established that tribals suffer most when new projects lead to involuntary displacement. MoTA takes no interest in pushing the states to change their state laws in conformity with Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA). There is no white paper from the ministry relating to pathetic condition of governance in forest-dependent villages, including huge vacancies and absenteeism of staff. The ministry has no meaningful partnerships with advocacy organisations that could produce credible and evidence-based reports with a view to putting pressure on other ministries that ignore tribal interests.

It is unfortunate that MoTA does not give sufficient attention to the important problems of the tribals on the plea that many of these subjects such as land alienation, displacement and PESA have not been allotted to it. Even then the ministry should play a more activist role in addressing these issues by pursuing with the concerned ministries.

When a new ministry is set up to help the marginalised people, it is expected that it would take a holistic view of their problems and coordinate the activities of all other ministries that deal with the subjects impinging on the work of the newly created ministry. The new ministry, however, takes a minimalist view of its responsibility and reduces itself to dealing with only such schemes (such as distribution of scholarships and grants to NGOs) that are totally outside the purview of the existing ministries. Such an ostrich-like attitude defeats the purpose for which the ministry is created.

This attitude results in continuing neglect of tribal issues. It also under-plays the role of non-monetary policies (such as displacement) and the impact they have on the lives of the people. For instance, MFP policies in the states are often dictated by the desire to maximise state revenues and not maximise welfare of gatherers, who are often women. During 1989-2001, Orissa earned Rs 7.52 billion from kendu leaves while the total wages earned by kendu leaf pluckers was only Rs 3.87 billion. Contrast this with the royalties collected on a major mineral, where the labour is organised—royalties on bauxite are Rs 30 per tonne but a whopping Rs 12,000 per tonne on kendu leaves!

Even the Planning Commission does not regularly monitor the impact of existing policies on the tribal population. One lesser known reason for this is that development and planning in India are associated with spending of money. That planning means expenditure and this will lead to development is the mindset behind such beliefs. The Indian planner has still to understand the difference between planning and budgeting. In addition to spending budgets, we need to give equal importance to non-monetary issues such as institutions, laws and policies.

—The author is a member of the National Advisory Council

The Financial Express, 16 February, 2011, http://www.financialexpress.com/news/column-so-whos-here-for-the-tribals/750300/0


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