The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Rs.10 crore for tribal health scheme

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rs.10 crore for tribal health scheme

Special Correspondent

Rs.12 crore earmarked for their rehabilitation

Special officer to oversee implementation of Central forest dwellers’ Act in the State
Applied sciences college for Adivasis in Wayanad

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has drawn up a comprehensive health care scheme for the entire Adivasi population in the State and earmarked Rs.10 crore for the purpose, Minister for the Welfare of Backward and Scheduled Classes A.K. Balan told the Assembly on Tuesday.

Responding to a calling attention motion from B. Raghavan (CPI-M), the Minister said the government had also earmarked another Rs.12 crore for rehabilitation of Adivasis and constituted a 12-member committee headed by Principal Secretary (Local Self-Government) S.M. Vijayanand and appointed a special officer to oversee implementation of the recently enacted Central Forest Dwellers’ Act in the State.

The Minister said the government would soon set up an applied sciences college for Adivasis in Wayanad district. Although the Union government cleared distribution of 19,002 acres to landless Adivasis, the State government could not do much in the matter on account of a case pending before the Supreme Court involving the net present value of the land in question. The government was taking steps to get the case disposed of at the earliest, he added.

Roads

Responding to a calling attention motion from Varkala Kahar (Congress), Public Works Minister Mons Joseph said a meeting of Ministers of Finance, Local Self-Government and Public Works would be held here on Wednesday to discuss the widespread demand from MPs and MLAs for return of some of the Other District Roads transferred to local bodies to the Public Works Department.

Mr. Joseph said there was widespread demand for the return of at least a part of the 13,000 km of roads passed on to the local bodies in the light of the local bodies’ inability to maintain them properly. In the case of some major roads among these connecting pilgrim centres had been taken up by the PWD for repair. The government would see how timely repairs could be ensured in the case of the other roads as well at Wednesday’s meeting, the Minister said.

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