MP govt to find new revenue resources for Tribals under PESA Act

Bhopal: After the Central government notified the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in Madhya Pradesh, the state government is giving an extra push for the execution of the wide range of plans for the transformation of the Tribals in the state.

The revenue resources of the Tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh will cross the traditional boundaries such as making ‘mahua liquor’, collection of ‘tendu patta’ or farming etc and will have many other resources for their livelihood.

The state government is preparing an action plan under the PESA Act to link them with new areas of employment and revenue resources in fields such as cottage and village industries, animal husbandry, mushroom cultivation, honey production, silkworm rearing and textile manufacturing etc.

The state government is also assessing the feasibility of transport services in the Tribal dominated villages and districts. Their traditional and cultural heritage will be developed for tourist sites.

The government is also planning to connect Tribals for tree plantations like in neighbouring Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh for employment opportunities. During a review meeting on the PESA Act, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav recently stressed on formation of a Tribal battalion in the state, a senior official told IANS.

Additionally, to make the Tribals, especially youths, aware of their rights under the PESA Act, training programmes are being conducted from district to state level.

"District-level PESA training has been conducted in 16 training centres in the state and state-level workshops are being conducted in Maharashtra’s Institute of Tribal Ethos and Economic Research (TEER)," the officer added.

Notifying the much-awaited PESA Act was an ambitious plan of the Central government and MP was designed as the nodal agency for its execution of the vision laid down for transportation of the community.

Sources also claimed that PM Modi is monitoring every step of development in this project.

The PESA Act in Madhya Pradesh was implemented by President Droupadi Murmu during a visit to the state on the occasion of Tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary on November 15, 2022.

The implementation of the PESA Act could be attributed as fruitful for the BJP as it won 27 out of 47 assembly seats reserved for the Schedule Tribes (ST) in the 2023 elections in Madhya Pradesh. Of these, 27 seats, 19 were strong zones for the Congress and the BJP won them, especially in the Mahakaushal and Malwa-Nimar regions.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has proposed a massive budget of Rs 6577 crore for the education of tribals. In the annual budget presented on Wednesday, the state government has proposed Rs. 4024 crore for primary schools and Rs. 2553 crore for secondary schools for Tribals.