Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Tribal people are very important for the state government. It is evident in various steps taken by the government for welfare of those communities.
It has happened for the first time that Raj Bhawan as well as the Chief Minister’s Office separately engaged officers to look after the schemes related to the tribal people.
On the contrary, the Minister of Tribal Welfare Department, Meena Singh, seems to be indifferent to the work of her department.
The minister has not reviewed any schemes run by her department for the past one year.
She has neither sought any information about the schemes nor held any meeting with officers. Consequently, the department has failed to spend most of the funds sanctioned for the welfare projects for tribal people.
The department has not been able to spend half of Rs 1,508 crore sanctioned under capital expenditure this year.
Keeping the welfare of tribal people in mind, the Governor house has set up a tribal cell.
A retired IAS officer Deepak Khandekar is its chairman. Similarly, an IAS officer BS Jamod has been appointed as its secretary.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has sent deputy secretary Lakshman Singh Markam to the Chief Minister’s Office to handle the projects related to tribal people.
Although Raj Bhawan and CMO are sensitive towards the welfare schemes meant for the tribal people, the minister looks unconcerned about the work of her department.
According to sources, there are certain schemes of her department, which Singh did not review even after taking over as minister.
The department is running various projects, including sickle cell, hostel for tribal students, schools and CM Rise School for ST children.
The Centre is also pumping a lot of money into the tribal sub-plan. Nevertheless, the minister is not monitoring any of the projects.
