BJP asks govt to conduct survey on tribals

Tamil Nadu government should conduct a survey on tribals in the state, pleaded BJP tribal wing national executive committee member Advocate G Ramasamy.

Inaugurating district tribal wing executive meeting at the party office on sunday, he said the Centre has allotted adequate funds to all states each year for SC ,STs. But the funds are not fully spent in TN.

For example, in 2015, out of Rs 2000 crore given for tribal welfare, Rs 1800 crore was returned. According to our calculations, there are more than 1500 tribal villages in Tamil Nadu where basic facilities are not available. Most of the tribals are without caste certificates.

 Tribes should be given certificate only then they will improve in education and economy. Their development is the development of the country. Their residential schools didnot have enough teachers or the teachers did not go to schools properly. The food provided there was also of poor quality. 

The central government runs Ekalaiva Navodaya schools for tribals with giving food and clothing education free of charge in many states. Therefore such schools should be allowed in TN.Central government has issued an order to include Kurivikarargal in the list of tribals. 

Tamil Nadu government should take action in this regard. Many sections including boomboom mattukarargals are asking to be included in the list of tribals. 

Even in Erode district Malayali tribes are not included in the list of tribals. In other states, tahsildars were giving community certificates. But, in TN, RDOs were doing it.

 So, they were not able to visit tribals, hold inquiry and give ST community certificates. Central government has brought the Forest Rights Amendment Act under which the tribals in the forest cannot be thrown out of the forest. 

But, some persons in TN got stay on the Act. Under the Act, tribals in forest should be given land pattas.  But 95% of tribals have not been given land pattas. 

Yet, Central government cannot directly intervene in these problems. Tribals are mostly poor and have not progressed in education. So  the government officials show indifference to them. 

Central government is ready to allocate funds according to the population of SC,ST. So,the said population survey should be done by  the State Government, he stressed. 

Party functionaries former MP Soundaram Dr. Sumathi Ashok MR Sai Vatsan, Sivaprakasam Point Mani Senthilkumar Vedantham Annadurai and many others participated in the event.