Bengal tribal body sore over funds delay

TT : A board for tribal development in Bengal has expressed disappointment over alleged delay in sanctioning funds and approving projects by the state government.

“The board was constituted in 2017 but we could start working only from April this year. Since then, we visited several tribal-dominated areas and spoke to people to know about their requirements. Based on the feedback, we prepared projects which would improve infrastructure in those areas and submitted the plans worth around Rs 102 crore to the government. However, till date, there has been no communication from the state’s side. We are doubtful whether the projects can be initiated in the current fiscal,” said Birsa Tirkey, the chairman of the West Bengal State Tribal Development and Cultural Board.

The board was constituted on April 24, 2017, for the socio-economic development of adivasis and conservation of their culture. Initially, Rs 5 crore had been allocated to the board which, however received just Rs 2.80 lakh.

Another tranche of Rs 20 lakh has been provided to the board out of the total allocation of Rs 70 lakh that was meant for construction of its office and other administrative works.

“We could not build the office so far. A section of officers is delaying the allotment of money. Although every detail has been provided to them with regard to the projects, they are neither sanctioning money nor giving us anything in writing as to why there is such a delay. No fund has been deposited with the board’s own accounts and we are running from pillar to post to get the funds approved so that the projects can be initiated,” added Tirkey.

Another member of the board said on September 14 this year, project plans of Rs 102 crore were handed over to the government.

“We find there is no alternative other than approaching the chief minister and inform her about the problems. Due to the delay, development works in tribal belts have been affected,” said the member.

The state’s decision to form a separate development board for tribals was yet another strategy of chief minister Mamata Banerjee to create a supplementary agency along with the tribal affairs department to focus on development of tribals.

“She tried to drive home the point that the state is sincere in resolving the problems faced by the tribal population. The state took some other decisions like setting up Hindi-medium colleges and recognising a number of tribal languages,” said an observer.