The Wayanad model of deprivation

Crores are spent for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, but their lives are riddled with hardships

Sita, wife of Kunhan of Odappallam Kattunayakka settlement, along with her two children in front of their hut.

While governments have been pumping a huge amount of money for the welfare of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in Wayanad district every year, many families among them still lead a wretched life.

Kunhan, Sita, and their six children, between one and 16 years of age, are living at the Odappallam Kattunayakka settlement, a PVTG settlement on the fringes of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, for the past many years. Their small hut is built out of low-quality plastic and pieces of asbestos sheets.

Torn clothes and plastic sheets hung on the sides of the hut are the only means of privacy for the eight-member family, including three teen-aged girls.

Distant dream

Basic facilities, including toilets, roads, and electricity are a distant dream for them.

Though Surya, 16, the elder daughter of the couple, had passed the SSLC examination last year with good marks, she is yet to secure admission for higher studies.

As many as seven families live in the settlement and a few of them had been provided better houses under various government schemes, Ms. Sita says. “Though we had also applied many times to the Tribal Development Department and the Noolpuzha grama panchayat authorities for a house, they are yet to consider it,” she said.

The condition of other PVTG settlements in the district, including Vaduvanchal, Valaramkunnu, and Kadachikunnu, was not different, said T. Krishnan, president, Prakthana Gothra Sanghom, an organisation of the PVTGs.

The Central government had executed a multicrore comprehensive project for all-round development of five groups of PVTGs, including Kattunayakka, Cholanayakka, Kurumba, Kadar, and Koraga, in the State during the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. The government had set aside a sum of ₹148 crore for the implementation of the project, of which ₹80.7 crore was spent for the Kattunayakka tribal families in Wayanad district.

But it had not made any difference in their life so far , he said. ₹37.1 crore was spent for construction of houses for the tribespeople, but many among them were landless and homeless owing to the alleged apathy of officials and lack of coordination among government departments, he said.

Though ₹18.29 crore was spent for 54 drinking water schemes under the project, many among them were yet to be commissioned, he added.