Celebrations for World Tribal Day were held at various places on Tuesday to mark the internationally earmarked day. Chief minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the celebrations of World Tribal Day from Jhalod in Dahod district by announcing nearly 5,690 development projects, worth Rs 1,600 crores for the uplift of the indigenous people.
It is noteworthy that, over the years, the state government has granted special rights to 90 lakh tribals living in over 4,000 villages over 53 Talukas across 14 districts in the tribal belt from Ambaji to Umargam.
Tribal-dominated pockets in 26 locations around the Jhalod belt will be covered by the progressive plans. The chief minister also briefed on the already implemented Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as having picked up pace toward mainstreaming tribals in Gujarat.
“The state has boosted its expenditure on the advancement of tribals 26 times during the past 20 years. The infrastructure, employment, education and health schemes have so far cost Rs 1 lakh crores,” his speech added.
The Chief Minister also unveiled the Birsa Munda University logo, congratulated the top students and handed out incentives to beneficiaries under the different tribal programmes.
“Education is the key to integration with mainstream. The state government is building new educational facilities in tribal areas. Medical and engineering colleges are in the pipeline while plans are afoot to make possible correspondence courses for higher education,” he added.
Alongside, Patel also informed that a National Tribal Museum is being constructed in Kevadia at an estimated Rs 130 crores to showcase the state’s tribal treasure trove.
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