On the second day of his tour to Chhattisgarh, Arjun Munda, the minister of Tribal Affairs, accompanied by Pravir Krishna, the managing director of TRIFED and other senior officials of the district administration paid a visit to a Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVKC) in Dhuragaon village on August 28, 2021. Located in Lohanigunda Tehsil in Bastar district and at a distance of 35 kms from Jagdalpur, Dhuragaon has a population of 1805 people, mainly tribals.
Organised by the Bastar district administration, the visit of Munda to the VDVKC was an important one. Villages connected to the VDVKC include Parapur, Lamraguda, Kutthar, Matnar, Mardom, Badrenga, Kasturpaal, Anjar, Alnar, Mandr, Chapar-Bhanpuri and Katnaar. The members of this VDVKC are involved in the procurement and processing of MFPs such as tamarind, mango, bel, amla, jamun, chironjee, jackfruit, and guava.
At the VDVKC, Munda interacted with the tribal beneficiaries which comprised both forest gatherers and artisans, and discussed more about their experiences with regard to the schemes that have been implemented. The two-day productive visit to the state thus concluded with this visit which provided a glimpse into how the schemes are being implemented on ground. The visit included a review meeting in Raipur where the minister interacted with Dr Premsai Singh Tekam, the minister for school education, tribal and scheduled caste, backward class and minority development, cooperation, government of Chhattisgarh, the secretary of environment and forest, the secretary, tribal welfare department, government of Chhattisgarh, the secretary of rural development and panchayat, government of Chhattisgarh and other senior officers and reviewed the progress of the implementation of tribal development programmes (MFP, VDSHGs and TRIFOOD projects) in the state.
Munda also inaugurated two Tribes India outlets, one in Jagdalur airport and the other in Chandni Chowk. Besides this, the highlight was the visit to the upcoming TRIFOOD project site in Jagdalpurwhere he also addressed a Van Dhan convention at the project site. It was attended by beneficiaries of over 10 VDVKCs and distributed the Van Dhan Natural awards, recognising the achievement of the tribal beneficiaries, artisans and forest gatherers. This was a productive visit as the Hon’ble Minister reviewed the ground level implementation, challenges and progress of these tribal development schemes. It is hoped that with review, monitoring and implementation of the programmes at ground level, there will be an impact in generating income for the tribal people and empower them. TRIFED continues in its mission to effect a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country and progress towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat.