KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday that the state government had formed a separate department to bring about comprehensive development of various tribal communities in the state.
The chief minister, on the occasion of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, listed her government's work for the uplift of the tribals. "Today is.#AdivasiDibas.Our government has created the Tribal Development Department to bring about comprehensive development of various tribal communities in #Bangla," Banerjee tweeted.
The state government has set up development boards for the Lepcha, Tamang, Sherpa, Bhutia, Limboo and Adivasi tribal communities of the state. The state government offers old-age pension and social security schemes for the tribals besides publishing a Santhali dictionary for development of the language.
It also publishes booklets in Bengali, Santhali and Hindi to disseminate information on various tribal development schemes. The state government had commenced a pilot project in 2014-15 for screening of tribals suffering from sickle cell disease.