BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday sought the intervention of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) to protect the Scheduled Tribe (ST) people of Malkangiri district affected by the Polavaram dam project by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister raised the issue during his meeting with NCST Chairperson Nand Kumar Sai at the Secretariat here. Stating that livelihood of 5000 STs going to be displaced because of the Polavaram dam will be affected, Naveen requested that the NCST should immediately intervene to protect the interests of the tribals.
Problems faced by the tribals displaced by different development projects were also discussed.
Stating that there has been delay in the release of pre and post matriculation scholarships for the tribals students by the Centre, the Chief Minister also raised the issue of drastic cut in financial assistance as per Article 275(1) of Constitution and tribal sub-plan scheme. Naveen also requested NCST to take immediate steps on the State Government’s proposal for inclusion of 167 communities in ST list.
Sai praised the step taken by the State Government for rehabilitation of tribals displaced from the Similipal sanctuary. He observed that this should be accepted as a model by other states. He also praised the launching of Akankhya scheme for facilitating higher education of tribal students. Besides, problems faced by displaced tribals in Rourkela and Jharsuguda were also discussed. Chief Secretary AP Padhi, senior officials of the State Government and Commission also attended the meeting.
Sai told mediapersons that arrangements for proper rehabilitation of tribals to be affected by the should be made before they are displaced. “Whether it is the case of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana or Odisha, there should be an alternative arrangement for their rehabilitation before the displacement of tribal people,” he said.
BJP submits memorandum
Bhubaneswar: The State unit of BJP on Friday demanded that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) should seek an explanation from the State Government for its failure to implement different schemes to protect the interests of the tribals. A memorandum submitted by the State BJP to NCST chairperson Nand Kumar Sai alleged that the State Government has failed to ensure collection of minor forest produces (MFPs) from the tribals. Besides, the tribals are also not being paid minimum support prices (MSPs) for the MFPs. Centre had announced 10 MFPs in 2014-15 and 14 MFPs in 2015-16 and asked the states to implement the scheme.