The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Give representation to tribals on district planning panels'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Give representation to tribals on district planning panels'

By Our Staff Reporter

VELLORE, DEC. 22. The Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), Justice S. Thangaraj, today recommended to the Collectors of Vellore and Tiruvannamalai to provide representation to tribals on District Planning Committees. This would enable the committees to know the actual problems faced by the tribals and implement schemes to solve them.

Speaking at a meeting of officials and tribals of the districts convened by the SHRC here, Mr. Justice Thangaraj said the tribals should be consulted by the Government and the district administration before implementing schemes for them.

Lack of road

Absence of road facilities was the biggest problem faced by the tribals in the villages on Javvadhu Hills and Yelagiri Hills, encompassing Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts. Medical facilities, schools and transport facilities were also absent.

The tribals gave vent to the problems to the SHRC Chairperson in the presence of the Collectors, S. Gopalakrishnan (Vellore) and Satyabrata Sahoo (Tiruvannamalai), and the Conservator of Forests, A. Samant Singhar.

Mangammal, a ward member of the Beemakulam panchayat, said for lack of roads, patients in Mandarakuttai requiring immediate medical attention had to be carried in `jolis' (hanging stretchers) down the hills to the nearest government hospital at Alangayam. Many patients died on the way, she said.

A ward member of Pudurnadu said that there was only one teacher for 100 students in the Forest Department Elementary School in the village. For the past 12 years, buses have not been operated in Javvadhu Hills. The students studying in the Pudurnadu school have no scope for higher education because of the absence of a higher secondary school. The Forest Department Higher Secondary School at Jamunamarudur did not have the first group in Plus-Two, which was necessary for students to pursue professional courses, he said. A youth club secretary of Nekkanamalai near Vaniyambadi said the tribals had to travel five km on rugged terrain to the nearest fair price shop. Many pregnant women died on the way to the hospital in Vaniyambadi because of absence of hill roads to reach the hospital.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan said that work was on to lay a road to link Pudurnadu, Punganur and Nellivasalnadu at a cost of Rs. 7 crores. It may take seven years to complete the work because of smaller financial allotments made every year. Once the road is ready, buses would be plied. But in many other forest areas, roads could not be laid because of objections by the Forest department on the grounds that roads would facilitate illegal smuggling of trees, he said.

Another major problem represented by the tribals was the difficulty faced by Scheduled Tribes in obtaining community certificates. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said the Government was implementing a scheme by which the revenue officials would visit schools and issue community, nativity and income certificates to the students based on the school records. There was some difficulty only for the adults to obtain the certificates because of the need for verification by the revenue divisional officer to weed out bogus claimants.

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