Centre to constitute tribal advisory body

Hyderabad: Union Minister Jual Oram on Monday said the Centre would soon form an advisory body to address issues relating to tribal people and it has initiated steps to strengthen welfare measures launched for them.

"We are going to form National Tribal Advisory Council with the Prime Minister as its Chairman," he said, speaking at a seminar on 'Laws relating to tribes in India - An audit of Legal, Constitutional and Policy Perspectives' here.

"The Centre would not allow any dilution in laws, policies or rules relating to welfare of tribals. We are trying to strengthen them," the Tribal Affairs Minister said. Stressing on the effective implementation of laws and rules for well-being of tribal people, Oram said the NDA government was also mulling a National Scheduled Tribe policy.

He expressed concern over tribal people forgetting their original dialects, while noting that tribal communities were showing progress on the education front. The Union Minister also flagged issues concerning tribal communities like superstitions, reflected in their members not taking allopathic medicines at the time of illness.