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India is on the verge of completing 60 years of Independence, and in 2010, Gujarat will have completed five decades of its march towards progress. Yet, there remains a lot to be done on the development front. There are many sections of the society that have been left out of the mainstream and yearn for special attention. The state government wishes to focus its attention on them. The eastern periphery of Gujarat has 43 tribal talukas. The tribal population comprises 75 lakh people, accounting for about 15% of the state’s total population. Since centuries, these tribal communities have preserved our cultural heritage, have laid down their lives in the freedom struggle, and have worked for the betterment of the state. Now the time has come when they are ready to participate in the rapid modernization of Gujarat. The headway made by tribal communities so far makes it clear that mere constitutional provisions are insufficient for their development. The current government has thus consistently tried t increase the flow of funds to tribal dominated regions. In the 27 years since the inception of Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) in 1974, a total of only Rs. 6500 crore were spent in tribal areas. In sharp contrast, there was in expenditure of Rs. 6000 crore in the last five years alone, between 2002 and 2007. For the new 11th Five Year Plan period, the state government will be surprising all previous efforts, and in a bold and historical move, will allocate a package of Rs. 15,000 crore. This amount exceeds the total allocations made in tribal regions over the last three decades. Realizing that increased fund alone are not enough, the state government has backed the Rs. 15,000 crore package with an ambitious ‘Vabbabdhu Kalyan Yojana’. The Yojana is integrated, holistic and all inclusive, and contains the Chief Minister’s 10-Point Programme for Tribal Development. It will make the communities partners in the development progress and will tough their lives in core areas such as livelihoods, education, housing, health drinking water, irrigation and basic facilities. The 10 Point Programme will be implemented in the mission mode through strengthened ITDP machinery. The final impact of the Yojana will be measured not through the coverage of great number, but through the actual benefits enjoyed by each tribal family. When efforts are directed and monitored at the household level, they will turn what was once a vision into reality and make far-reaching changes possible. |
