The human development index of the tribal-majority Attappady is lower than that of poverty-stricken Ethiopia, claims a study by the Geography Department of Chittur Government College.
It says infusion of funds under special packages alone will not help solve issues confronting the tribes people.
Released last week by agriculturist M.S. Swaminathan, the compilation, ‘Tribal woes - human development report of tribals in Attappady’, says India was 121st on the human development index among nations and Ethiopia 183rd.
“Our studies during June 2013 and December 2013 found that the tribal people of Attappady lag behind that of Ethiopia in life expectancy, education, and income. It was the first index-based study of Attappady and its contentious issues,” said Richard Scaria, assistant professor of geography, who guided the work.
He said the income index of Attappady was 0.39 while Ethiopia had a globally accepted rating of 0.35. In the case of malnutrition, the rating of Attapapdy was 0.35 and that of Ethiopia, 0.32.
Teachers K. Sumesh, R.J. Reejo, and D.M. Dhanush coordinated the study with 35 students. As per the study, changes in land use patterns and collapse of livelihood of the tribal people had accentuated poverty and malnutrition in the area.
Deforestation caused by development projects, huge buildings housing government and private establishments, and encroachments by settlers have altered the land use pattern affecting the livelihood of the tribal people.
“The majority of forest area had lost its character, which prevented the tribal people from collecting tubers, roots and minor forest produces. Even though many welfare schemes are being implemented in Attappady following reports of malnutrition deaths, 90 per cent of the tribal settlements lack safe drinking water. The literacy rate is hardly 46 per cent,” says the report.
The dropout rate is four times high here while 75 per cent of the houses lack toilets. A tribal native of Attappady gets work for a maximum of 15 days while the monthly income of a family is below Rs.2,200, the report adds.
