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`Condition of BPL tribals unchanged'

Not a single tribal family has been lifted from below poverty line in the past five years, says CAG report

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Tribal Finance and Development Corporation (MPTFDC) -- which was constituted for social, economic and educational upliftment of tribals -- has not succeeded in uplifting a single tribal family from below poverty line in the past five years, according to a CAG report. Moreover, the MPTFDC spent Rs. 5.61 crores as establishment cost for providing financial assistance of Rs. 2.34 crores.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report for the financial year ending March 31, 2005, held irresponsible behaviour of MPTFDC officials and rampant corruption for the failure.

Under the scheme, if a beneficiary established his business successfully and returned the entire loan amount, he was considered self-dependent and above poverty line.

Although 1,144 beneficiaries were provided financial assistance, no one could come up to the mark and, out of 12.13-lakh families, not a single family could be uplifted from below poverty line.

As per the 2001 census, tribal population constitutes 20.3 per cent of the state's 6-crore population. Out of the total tribal population of 1.22 crores, 1.14-crore tribals are villagers, while eight lakhs are live in urban areas.

The report stated that 82.78 lakhs (roughly 68 per cent) tribals in the state were illiterate.

Though the Corporation had been publishing advertisements in newspapers, it did not develop a mechanism for implementing schemes in rural areas. In the absence of adequate information about Swarojgar Yojana, needy tribals were deprived of its benefits. Besides, schemes were implemented in districts without taking tribal population in that district in consideration.

The Corporation had to distribute funds received from National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation to beneficiaries within 90 days. However, it completed the exercise between 4.5 months to 60 months depriving tribals of the scheme's benefit. - UNI.

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