OLD GOA
Tribal Welfare minister Govind Gaude stated that the ST community can win 6 to 7 Assembly seats if members of the community stay united and support their candidates.
Gaude was speaking at an awareness camp held by Tiswadi United Tribals Associations Alliance (UTAA) at Chimbel on Sunday.
At the function, Gaude said that two of the demands of the ST community like identification of tribal areas and 12 per cent political reservation are not met as yet.
“But we do not need reservations as we have the capacity to elect 6 to 7 MLAs if all remain united and vote for our candidates,” Gaude opined while stating that his victory in Priol was the result of unity among the entire ST community.
However, Gaude expressed disappointment of division among the ST leaders just when elections approach. “Our leaders get divided as elections approach which should not happen,” he added.
When criticized by a section of the audience on his statement that there is no need of political reservation, Gaude said that it depends on the Centre. “The central delimitation commission plays a crucial role in the process,” he added.
Speaking on the issue of identification of tribal areas, Gaude said that it is also a central scheme where the requirement is of a minimum 4000 population in a cluster, which is not the case in Goa.
“For that, we have urged the Central government to give relaxation for the State as a cluster consists of only around 1500-2000 population,” he added.
Earlier, Gaude highlighted the various schemes for ST community which have been either introduced or improved upon during his tenure. He said that he will try to improve the amount of the Atal Ashraya Yojana from the current Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
“Also decision has been taken to increase the amount of Antay Sanvskar Yojana from the current Rs 20000 to Rs 40000. It has also been decided to increase the amount of Childrens of Widow Pension scheme from Rs 1500 to Rs 2500,” Gaude informed and stated that improvements have also been made in the Gaga Barari Scheme, Eklavya Prashikshan Yojana and Matrutva Yojana.
Dr Uday Gaonkar spoke on the history of UTAA while ST corporation chairman Durgadas Gaude highlighted schemes for tribals. The SSC students of the tribal community were also felicitated on the occasion at the hands of minister Gaude.
