Parliament Question: Basic Amenities in Tribal Areas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-891 TO BE ANSWERED ON-23/07/2026 Basic Amenities in Tribal Areas 891. Shri Ram Shiromani Verma : Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether there is a lack of basic amenities such as education, health, roads, drinking water, housing, and livelihood in the Tharu tribe-dominated and forest areas of Shravasti and Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh and if so, the steps being taken by the Government for their development; (b) whether there is any proposal by the Government to extend Eklavya Model Residential Schools, tribal hostels, scholarships and skill development schemes in these districts, and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government is providing training, marketing and financial assistance to the people of the Tharu tribe by involving them in handicrafts, minor forest produce, Self-Help Groups, agriculture and other traditional livelihoods and if so, the details thereof for the last three years; and d) whether the Government is implementing any special action plan to ensure the holistic development of tribal areas and the participation of local tribal communities and if so, the details thereof with regard to Shravasti and Balrampur? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY) (a) The Hon' ble Prime Minister has launched a special mega multi-sectoral mission named “Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan” (DAJGUA) on 2nd October,2024 for saturation of critical gaps in tribal villages and habitations, interventions relating to education, health, skill development, roads, housing, drinking water, sanitation, livelihood and digital connectivity including Tharu tribe-dominated areas of Shravasti and Balrampur districts of Uttar Pradesh.The program aims at the holistic and sustainable development of tribal populations in tribal villages through the convergence of schemes of 17 ministries including Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ (MoTA ) with 25 interventions. The program encompasses a total of 63,843 villages in 549 districts and 2,911 blocks across all tribal-dominated villages in 26 States and 4 Union Territories including 16 and 2 villages respectively in Balrampur & Shravasti districts of the State of Uttar Pradesh.(b) In the Union Budget 2018–19, the Government of India announced that, to provide quality education to tribal children in their own environment, Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) would be established in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, as per the 2011 Census. The EMRSs are to be at par with Navodaya Vidyalayas with special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development. National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organization, has been established to manage and implement the scheme of EMRS in co-ordination with State EMRS Societies No EMRS has been sanctioned in Shravasti and Balrampur districts of Uttar Pradesh, as none of its blocks fulfil the prescribed twin criteria. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the following scholarship schemes to promote and encourage basic and higher education amongst the ST population in the country including Uttar Pradesh: i) Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class IX and X) ii) Post Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class XI and above) iii) National Fellowship for Higher Education for ST students. iv) National Scholarship for Higher Education for ST Students (Top Class) v) National Overseas Scholarship for ST students. Skill development opportunities for tribal youth are also being facilitated through schemes of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and other Ministries under convergence mechanisms through JSS scheme, including DAJGUA. Under the “Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan” (DAJGUA), Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved following projects in Shravasti and Balrampur Districts in Uttarpradesh. Fund S. Intervention District Unit Approved No. (in Lakh) 1 Teacher & staff quarters in residential school Shravasti 1 175 Construction of Toilet complex in Ashram/Tribal area 3 60 2 School Balrampur Construction of Toilet complex in Ashram/Tribal area 1 20 3 School Shravasti (c) Tribal Multipurpose Marketing Centres (TMMCs) are one of the 25 key interventions under the DAJGUA .TMMCs focus specifically on the economic and marketing aspects of tribal welfare and ensure that the unique products of tribal communities can thrive in the market. TMMCs helps complement skill development and entrepreneurship efforts. The Ministry has sanctioned one TMMC for an amount of Rs. 100 lakh in Uttar Pradesh under DAJGUA. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), operates Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) across 29 States / UTs which aims to strengthen tribal entrepreneurship initiatives and facilitate livelihood opportunities. The tribal beneficiaries under the VDVKs are trained in trainings related to value addition, entrepreneurship awareness and development which help them to further improve their products as per the prevalent market standards. TRIFED empanel tribal artisans/ suppliers, which comprise of individual tribal artisans, tribal SHG groups, reputed NGOs, Govt. agencies etc. working with tribal artisans.A total number of 5927 suppliers/producers are empanelled with TRIFED as on 31.03.2025, which are associated with 3, 05,485 families. TRIFED has empanelled 132 THARU TRIBES Artisans, which are associated with 2716 families across the country. It includes 01 empanelled THARU TRIBE Artisan in Balrampur District, Uttar Pradesh, who is associated with 10 families.(to be updated) (d) The Government is committed for development of tribal communities across the country including the Tharu-dominated forest regions of Shravasti and Balrampur districts of Uttar Pradesh. Tribal villages and habitations identified under the Abhiyan in Uttar Pradesh, including tTharu population in Shravasti and Balrampur districts, are covered with saturation of eligible benefits and implementation of need-based interventions under the respective schemes of participating Ministries/Departments and the State Government. ****