The Government on Wednesday will launch Scheme Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) for the holistic welfare of the de-notified, nomadic and semi nomadic communities in the country.
The Scheme with an outlay of Rs 200 crore will have four components including providing coaching of good quality for the community to enable them to appear in competitive examinations, provide health insurance, facilitate livelihoods initiative at community level and to provide financial assistance for construction of houses to members of the DNT/NT/SNT Communities.
“The De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are the most neglected, marginalized and economically and socially deprived communities. Most of them have been living a life of destitution for generations and still continue to do so with an uncertain and gloomy future. De-notified, Nomadic and Semi- nomadic Tribes somehow escaped the attention of our developmental framework and thus are deprived of the support unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,” said an official from the Ministry of Social Justice and Welfare.
Historically, these communities never had access to private land or home ownership. These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use and had "strong ecological connections. Many of them are dependent upon various types of natural resources and carve out intricate ecological niches for their survival. The changes in ecology and environment seriously affect their livelihood options, he said.
A Government constituted National Commission for De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes had constituted the Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) in 2019.
The Board has been mandated to formulate and implement welfare and development programmes for these communities. A Scheme for empowerment of DNT communities has been formulated for families having income from all sources of Rs.2.50 lakh or less per annum and not availing any such benefits from similar Scheme of Centre Government or the State Government. The scheme will be implemented through a portal, developed by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment. The funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account.