KANNUR: District Collector Ishita Roy has said that action will be initiated against officials who have failed to utilise funds earmarked for the welfare and development of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities.

"Action will be taken against officials who present a zero per cent expenditure in utilising funds meant for the SC and ST communities," she said in reply to a query at a press conference here on Wednesday. The Department concerned would act against the officials who had failed in utilising the funds allocated for benefiting the SC and ST communities in the district, she said in reply to the query on her reported ire at some officials at a recent meeting here.

"The officials who cannot explain how many of these sections do not have land and access to water and electricity have no right to occupy their official positions," she said. Unfortunately, some officials did not know what people's representatives knew about the condition of SC-ST people living in their areas, she pointed out.

`Screening completed'

To another question on assignment of land to tribal people in Aralam Farm, Ms. Roy said that screening of applications from landless tribal people had been completed in the Peravur and Koothuparamba blocks. As many as 6,500 applications had so far been received, she said adding that after the screening was completed two weeks would be given to the tribal people for raising objections, if any, against the list. The final list would be made after consulting with the people's committee, she added. As many as 840 tribal families had already been given titles in the Aralam Farm, she pointed out.

The Collector said that preliminary round of scrutiny of the applications was done at village office level. The tribal people who possessed no piece of land would be given first priority, she said.

A revenue team had been deployed in the farm for a survey for assigning the land, she said adding that 3,120 plots had already been surveyed. A project had been prepared by the Department of Agriculture for involving the Adivasis in organic farming after assignment of the farm land among them, she said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail