Big boost for tribals in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, June 29: Odisha government was committed to provide the best possible education to every tribal child which would prepare them to face the challenges of life, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

Patnaik said this while presiding over a Tribes Advisory Council meeting here yesterday.

"Considering the role of education in social development, our government has started a number of initiatives in this regard which have started yielding good results," he said.

Odisha has 22.85 tribal population and 62 schedule tribes, including 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups, Patnaik said.

Tribal students from Odisha studying in national-level institutions were being provided full assistance to take care of their educational expenses besides the scholarships given to tribal students by the state government since 2014-15, the chief minister said.

"The development of tribal areas and the welfare of the tribal people, preservation and promotion of their cultural heritage, has always been very close to my heart and now my government seeks to fulfill this through the unique special development councils in nine tribal-dominated districts," Patnaik said.

Patnaik also claimed that Odisha continued to remain as the best performer as far as settlement of land rights in favour of forest dwellers was concerned.

Till now, the state govenrment has accorded land rights to 4.15 lakh individuals covering an area of 6.14 lakh acres and 6,336 community rights over an area of 3.28 lakh acres under Forest Rights Act, Patnaik said.