The Girijana Kriya Koota and the Rajya Moolanivasi Budakattu Janara Vedike have appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to allocate Rs. 3,000 crore in the budget for the welfare of Adivasis.
A delegation from the two organisations met Mr. Siddaramaiah in Bangalore on Wednesday, Srikanth, convener of the koota, told The Hindu here.
‘Hakku patra’
The process of issuing ‘ >hakku patra ’ to adivasis as per the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 should be speeded up by the government, leaders of the two organisations said.
Releasing a statement in this regard here on Thursday, the organisations said the State government must declare the places inhabited by the Adivasis in the State ‘Scheduled Areas’.
Annual scholarships
Saying that education was the panacea for all ills, the members said annual scholarships should be given to tribal children: Rs. 5,000 for primary students, Rs. 8,000 for high school students, Rs. 12,000 for college students and Rs. 50,000 for those studying professional courses.
The Chief Minister should take the lead and constitute a 30-member development board for the welfare of Adivasis in the State. The members expressed surprise at the omission of the ‘Betta Kuruba’ tribe in the Scheduled Tribes list and appealed to the Chief Minster to recommend to the Centre to notify the tribe in the list.
The members demanded that over 2,000 tribal families, who were working as labourers in coffee plantations in Kodagu and Chikmagalur districts, be “freed” and given housing facilities in hadis. There were over 70,000 Adivasis in the State and to construct 20,000 houses, a sum of Rs. 400 crore should be earmarked, the members said. A sum of Rs. 150 crore was needed to free the adivasi families working in coffee plantations and accommodate them in new hadis, the members said.
Another Rs. 150 crore was needed to involve 5,000 families skill-enhancing works . The government must earmark Rs. 300 crore to start a university for Adivasi students in Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Chikmagalur districts. The government must also allocate Rs. 280 crore to establish eight women cooperative banks in the taluks and one at the State-level, apart from constituting 5,000 self-help groups, they said.
