The provisions for economic development are mentioned in fundamental rights and directive principles as guidance for the State in dealing with economic development of the marginalised sections such as tribals of the country who constitute eight per cent of the total population. For historical reasons, they remain backward which needs extra intervention in form of sub plans to bring them to the level of other social groups in all respects.
We had had five years and yearly plans, sub plans and micro plans within the plan to meet the special needs of specific groups of people or regions to ensure equity in development by creating opportunity. The State has formulated policy and protective laws and set up institutional mechanism with budgetary provisions to translate the mandate of the constitution into reality. It is the duty of the elected Government to take forward the process further but unfortunately, the institutions are dysfunctional even though there has been tribal representation in such institutions.
The State Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) has no regular meetings and when held, the meetings are organized without consulting its members on agenda. The regional office of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in Odisha is almost non-functional without adequate staff and infrastructure. In this context, let us take a view of tribal development in Odisha which is very important for the overall development of the State because 62 identified tribal communities constitute about 23 per cent of the total population of the State as per Census 2011 but they suffer a historical injustice against them by dominant social groups taking the advantage of their backwardness.
Almost 45 per cent of the geographical area of the State has been declared as 5th scheduled area for the purpose of autonomy in governance and development which is home to 68.09 per cent of the total tribal population. Odisha is home to ten per cent of the tribal population of the country and is the third largest concentration of the tribal population of the country.
The constitution has made provision of a tribal development department with a Cabinet Minister from tribal community to head the department and a TAC headed by the Chief Minister of the State. There have been provisions of reservation in lok Sabha, State Assembly and Panchyatraj institutions for tribal representation as per the percentage of their population. The financial assistance from Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Minority Affairs, in form of special Central assistance, several Central plans, additional Central assistance under the special plan for KBK districts, external assistance from DFID, WFP and IFAD, President’s grant under Article 275(1), ministry’s own projects, and provisions of tribal sub plan are the major sources for tribal development. The budget of ST and SC Development Department for the year 2014-15 was Rs2,486 crore.
The Government of Odisha has to implement all the constitutional provisions, laws and programmes. last 65 years of governance has witnessed huge non-implementation of such provisions and programmes which resulted in a continued situation of distress and deprivation. The basic human needs such as food, drinking water, housing, sanitation, education, healthcare and employment have not been solved to the desired extent. The scheduled areas remain backward marked by lack of core infrastructure such as road, electricity, communication and connective facilities. There have been regular reports of hunger deaths, extreme poverty, child labour, trafficking of tribal women, bonded labour, distress migration, violence and deprivation in tribal areas and still there areas remain inaccessible without basic facilities.
The level of mass education and political citizenship is very poor where people still remain in a feudal era in terms of political participation and understanding. The State Government has been acting as a project implementing agency depending on Central grants without any long term vision of tribal development by integrating it in the overall development. There is lack of coordination and integration among various departments and dedicated institutions operating within the State for tribal development. The various actors and interveners of tribal development, especially the large number private players such as corporate and other international and national self managed bodies in the name of non-profit organizations are working in isolation without integration with Government departments. Many of the interventions of trial development are unsustainable, disjointed and self- style experiments without any larger prospects and visions compatible to the overall vision of the State.
Two most important provisions such as The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and Tribal Sub Plan -1974 (TSP) have not been implemented in the State in spite of movements by tribals and many concerned civil society groups and tribal rights activists. The non-implementation of these two important provisions has impact over development and governance in tribal areas. PESA is linked to local governance and ownership over resources and TSP addresses the developmental concerns of tribal households and area having tribal concentration covering all aspects of development with focus on education, health and employment. But there has been no amendment in State laws in line with PESA and there has been notional allocation of TSP in State budget without implementation by formulating State schemes out of TSP funds. The funds are being diverted and largely misused by the State. Along with non-implementation of PESA and TSP, there is also partly implementation of reservation provisions in education and jobs and affirmative action by business and industry. The language, culture and belief system of tribals are not getting adequate State patronisation and protection.
As a matter of constitutional provision, elected tribal representatives are participating but they are without power in decision making process. The leaders are used by ruling parties as followers with personal benefits to betray the cause of the community. They are mostly acting as representatives of the party in the community but not representing the cause of the tribals in party or governing bodies. This may be largely due to lack of political power to challenge the hegemony and dominance of ruling elites. A large number of non-tribal civil society members are representing tribal cause in public in form of advocacy without a fair representation of educated tribal themselves in such forums. Tribals are also getting divided on religious and ethnic grounds and not getting united with a homogeneous tribal identity at State level due to lack of political mobilization based on tribal identity. The radical political mobilization has damaged to build tribal leadership for using available democratic space in parliamentary democracy. The dominant development model implemented by corporates in active State patronization has failed to integrate tribal development. The modern education and technology has been used to exploit and alienate tribals from their society and community development process. The insignificant few upcoming elites within the tribal community are accommodated to dominant discourses of the ruling elite. It is time to look at the past to review the whole process of tribal development programmmes and administration and have a fresh plan for the future.
(The writer is a researcher and rights activist who can be mailed at manasbbsr15@gmail.com)