In a move that is a first in the State, 1,989 people from the Marayur grama panchayat, belonging to the Scheduled Tribes and some of them senior citizens, will be given certificates that confirm their birth details on Wednesday.
These 1,989 are people who do not exist, as per official records. They were born in the remote tribal settlements deep in Marayur forests because their mothers couldn’t scale the distance to the nearest hospital. So, their births have not been recorded. But an estimate by the Tribal Department, says they do.
Taking note of this, the Revenue Department has decided to issue them birth certificates, which will be done by District Collector G.R. Gokul. Panchayat president Jomon Thomas will preside over the function where the certificates will be given away.
The Marayur forests have a large tribal population of Muthuvan and Malayaras living in inaccessible settlements, details of which are found displayed at the Forest Department office. But as per the revenue records, the numbers of tribespeople are lesser, as many births in the settlements go unrecorded. Ignorant of the need to register births and the benefits that could be claimed thereof, the tribespeople themselves do not bother to record the births.
Deprived of benefits
Due to this, many among the tribes are kept out of the purview of government benefits. The disparity prompted the Revenue Department to act, based on which moves were taken by former Devikulam Sub Collector Sreeram Venkitaraman, aided by anganwadi workers.
An official of the Marayur Sandalwood Division says lifestyle changes have necessitated the enrolment of birth. Till now, the dependency of the tribes had been mostly on the forests. Now, with projects evolved for their welfare, an official record of their presence is needed.
