Tawadkar says delegation to meet Amit Shah soon, push for notification
Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadakar addresses a meeting held to finalise Tribal Vision 2037 roadmap at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on Monday.
MARGAO
Asserting that the process to provide political reservations to the Scheduled Tribe communities of Goa is almost complete, Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar on Monday said a delegation will call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah within the next 15 days with a plea to issue the notification to take the exercise to its logical conclusion.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the meeting held to finalise Tribal Vision 2037 roadmap at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on Monday, the Tribal Minister further said that the Tribal Vision will be unveiled in the next three months, focusing on 11 priority sectors to boost tribal welfare through targeted funding. He said a booklet will be released on May 25, which is observed as Prerna Day to mark the death of tribal youth Dilip Velip and Manguesh Gaonkar in the 2011 Balli UTAA agitation.
Saying that the process for implementation of the ST political reservation law is almost complete, Tawadkar said, “what remains to be done is a notification that needs to be issued by the Home Ministry”.
He said a Goa delegation had called on the Union Law Minister and Law Secretary seeking the status of the implementation of the political reservation law. “We have been informed that the process is 100 per cent complete and what remains to be issued is a notification. Hence, a delegation from Goa will call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in respect of the issue of notification. The visit will take place within 15 days.”
To a question whether the tribal communities will enjoy the political reservations in the 2027 Assembly election, Tawadkar said he is hopeful that the law will be implemented in the coming polls. “That is the reason why a delegation will call on the Union Home Minister to expedite the issue of the notification,” he added.
Tribal Vision 2037 roadmap
The Tribal Welfare Minister said that he had convened the meeting to finalise the Tribal Vision 2037 roadmap in order to implement the funds under the Tribal Sub Plan for the welfare of the tribal communities.
“When hundreds of crores of rupees are allocated in the budget for the Tribal Sub Plan, we have to prepare a roadmap on how to effectively utilise the funds for the welfare and upliftment of the tribal communities. We have identified 11 priority areas, including health, education, sports, etc. The panel will conduct a deep study and, if needed, undertake research on how to uplift the tribal communities in these priority areas,” he said.
As part of the roadmap, he said the Adivasi Suvidha Kendras will be set up with permanent offices in areas which have more than 30 per cent ST population.
Olive branch to opponents
Underscoring the need to keep aside egos and personal differences to achieve the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes, the Tribal Welfare Minister said all leaders, including organisations such as UTAA headed by Prakash Velip, besides ex-Minister Govind Gawde, should join hands in the larger interest of the community.
“As a Minister, I am ready to forget the past in the interest of the community. I have been closely associated with the ST movement since the 90s. Whether in power or not, I have taken up issues affecting the Scheduled Tribes,” he said.
The Minister said Monday’s meeting also chalked out the plan for May 25, observed as Prerna Day, to mark the death anniversary of tribal youth Dilip Velip and Manguesh Gaonkar, who were killed in the 2011 Balli riots. “Let us all come together and work for the welfare of the tribal communities,” he appealed.
