PALGHAR, 15 Jul: Union minister Arjun Munda has said that people from different states and institutions in the country should come together to chalk out a plan for the welfare of tribals.
The tribal affairs minister was speaking after inaugurating a two-day symposium, ‘Manthan’, at Galtare in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Thursday.
Union MoS for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu was also present on the occasion.
“All institutions and states should come together to prepare a plan for the welfare of tribals. A report should be prepared on the implementation and performance under the scheduled tribes component (STC),” Munda said.
The STC was formed after a prolonged deliberation. Hence, its performance in different states needs to be evaluated, he added.
”The representatives of the education ministries in the states doing a commendable job in regional languages under the National Education Policy should be roped in to form a five-member committee to explore the scope of work to be done by the tribal affairs ministry,” he said.
The symposium focuses on various programmes to be undertaken under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by Eklavya model residential schools, the fees control authority, the grants department and the tribal museums which organise ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ on birth anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagwan Birsa Munda, an official statement said.
It also includes discussions on scheduled tribe component and health and education of tribal population, it said, adding that tribal affair ministers and the chief secretaries of different states and union territories are attending the symposium.
Apart from Maharashtra, representatives of tribal welfare departments from Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are taking part in the symposium, the statement said. (PTI)
