Rs 150 cr for developing forest villages in tribal areas

New Delhi, June 14 (UNI) In a bid to accelerate development in tribal areas to bridge the existing gaps, the government has allocated Rs 150 crore for the development of forest villages in the current fiscal 2007-08.

Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, conversion of 2,474 forest villages, spread over 12 states, into revenue villages was recognised as one of the forest rights and expectedly, once the Act was notified, these forest villages would get converted in a reasonable period of time. The government has made the allocation of Rs 150 crore keeping the interim period in view, said a release issued here today.

According to Ministry of Tribal Affairs, development of forest villages, having about 2.5 lakh tribal families, was one of the thrust areas of tribal development during the 10th Five Year Plan.

The development envisaged was in terms of providing of basic minimum facilities and services like food, safe drinking water, healthcare, primary education, approach roads, drinking water, irrigation and other infrastructure facilities.

The 2474 forest villages were spread over the states of Asom, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Orissa, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal with MP having the largest number of such villages placed at 893. This was followed by Asom with 499, Gujarat 199 and West Bengal with 170 and in the rest of the seven cases, the number was below hundred in each case.

So far, 511 forest villages in four states had been converted into revenue villages.

During 2005-06, proposals for 1,832 villages of eight states were approved and Rs 191.81 crore was released to State Governments. In 2006-07, proposals for 556 villages were approved and a sum of Rs.

220.97 crore was released to 11 states. Now proposals from 86 villages were to be received.

It was reported that in some states, few of these villages had been abandoned. During the last two years, proposals were not received for 13 villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs has written to all the States reported to have forest villages to send the project proposals for remaining forest villages and also seek additional funds for those villages where some more work needed to be done, the release said.

UNI