From forest rights to skill development centres -- Hemant Soren looks to woo tribals ahead of 2024 polls

Ranchi: Eyeing to consolidate its support among the tribals ahead of the 2024 elections, the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand launched a slew of schemes this year aimed at benefitting the community.

Among these initiatives were expediting the process of giving forest rights titles, providing coaching to students to make them ready for recruitment examinations and imparting skill development training, besides organising the 'government at doorstep' camps so that the benefits of the schemes reach people living in the remote areas.

About 26 per cent of Jharkhand's population are tribals, and JMM banks on this vote for electoral success. As it is looking at a tough fight in 2024 amid allegations of corruption, the party is hoping that these initiatives will deepen its support in the community, which will help it retain power in the state and contribute significantly to the INDIA bloc's kitty in Lok Sabha.

Assembly elections in the state are usually held a few months after the Lok Sabha polls.

The state government, in August, launched a residential coaching programme for youths of eight tribes to prepare them for competitive examinations.

These eight tribes are among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). There are 32 tribes in the state, and these eight are considered vulnerable as their population has declined significantly. The total population of PVTGs in Jharkhand is 2.92 lakh, which is 3.38 per cent of the total tribal population of the state.

In the first phase, 156 students from the Asur, Malphariya, Saurya, Pahariya, Birjiya, Korba, Birhor and Sabar tribes were selected for free coaching at Dr Ramdayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute in Ranchi. They are, at present, preparing for the examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

To expedite the process of giving forest rights titles to tribals, the state government launched the 'Abua Bir Dishom' campaign in November.

Distribution of titles under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, has been relatively slow in the state. In the last 15 years, merely 60,000 titles as individual forest rights and 2,000 titles as community forest rights were given in Jharkhand.

As a part of the campaign, the government aims to provide community forest rights to 10,000 villages and individual forest rights to around 1 lakh families, besides disposing of 20,679 pending claims. A website and a mobile app were also launched to help people track the status of their applications.

In July, the state government launched the Mukhya Mantri Sarathi Yojana (MMSY) to provide skill development training at the block level to tribal youths. Block Level Institutes for Rural Skill Acquisition (BIRSA) were set up under the scheme in 80 blocks of the state, aiming to provide training to 40,000 people within this financial year.

If trainees do not get jobs after three months of the completion of training, they would get financial support -- Rs 1,000 for men and Rs 1,500 for women and those physically challenged -- till the end of the first year. Also, the trainees are provided a travel allowance of similar amounts during the training period.

In December, the government did away with the restrictions on providing benefits of the Savitribao Phule Kishori Samridhi Yojana (SPKSY) to only two girls in a family. Under the scheme, launched in October last year, girls studying in classes 8 to 12 get a one-time scholarship of Rs 20,000 for higher studies. Around eight lakh girls have already registered for it.

To reach the benefits of government schemes to people living in the remotest parts of the state, the government launched the 'Apki Yojana, Apki Sarkar, Apke Dwar' (your scheme, your government at your doorstep) campaign on November 24. It concluded on December 29 after providing services to more than 57.52 lakh people.

JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey told PTI that the Hemant Soren government has been working for the inclusive growth of the state.

"The objective of the government has been the welfare of people. Several welfare schemes have been launched for the benefit of the people. Tribal development has also been the focus of this government," he said.

However, the BJP alleged that though the JMM-led government, of which the Congress and RJD are also a part, claims to have undertaken several initiatives for the welfare of tribals, their impact is not seen on the ground.

"Implementation of schemes by this government has been very poor. This government has indulged only in corruption," BJP MP Deepak Prakash alleged.