MP CM announces sops for tribal people

In an attempt to attract tribal people, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan offered a slew of sops to them. This includes vanity boxes, colour television, bicycles, mobile, hospitals and office-buildings, free-coaching for students, etc.

However, corporate houses will have a chance to join government's move of supplying colour televisions, thousands of vanity boxes for girl students and bicycles for primary school going girls. One-fifth of the state population (1.22 crore) is tribal and most of them live in inaccessible areas.

There are 431,940 schedule tribe girl students in primary schools. "So far the free-bicycle facility is available to only middle school pass girls," a government spokesperson said.

A mega congregation namely Adivasi Panchayat of tribal people was organised at Chouhan's official residence. Here he informed to shell out Rs 4.80 crore for installation of colour televisions sets in tribal hostels. While Prasadhan Kit (vanity box) will be offered to all girls students living in these hostels. The state has 2,043 hostels.

Chouhan went on becoming liberal in offering grants and assured the tribal people that his government shell out Rs 15.84 crore to raise scholarship limits to the students living in tribal areas.

More importantly his government will convert all Van Grams (villages in forest areas) into Rajasva Gram (villages that pays revenue to government). However, it is not clear if the government has obtained permission from the Centre.

To regulate indiscriminate diversion of forestland for non-forestry purposes, an act namely Forest (Conservation) Act was enacted in 1980. It envisages seeking permission from the Government before diversion of forestland.

The enforcement of this Act has brought down the diversion of forestland considerably. According to forest department sources, prior to 1980, land area of 15.65 lakh hectares was converted into revenue land but after implementation of the Act, only 1.21 lakh hectares was diverted.

As many as 539 forest villages will be converted into revenue land. Other announcements includes; fellowship for tribal students to be increased from 5,000 per month to 8,000, a grant of Rs 800 to each student pursuing his masters, a kisan mitra and a kisan saheli in each tribal villages, mobile hospitals in each tribal block, and free coaching to all tribal candidates appearing in Union Public Service Commission or State Public Service Commission examination.