Tribal sub-plan: Medha for SC-ST Dept. handling funds


By The Hindu

KOCHI, NOV. 26 Ms. Medha Patkar, social activist and environmentalist, feels that the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds should be handled by the SC-ST Development Department and not by the panchayats.

``I respect and support the Adivasi-Dalit Samara Samithi's demand (that the TSP funds should be reallocated to the department and distributed by the Integrated Tribal Development Project)'', she said. She also called for a debate on the issue.

The State Government's move to reallocate the funds to the department, after withdrawing them from the panchayats, has annoyed the LDF and led to a walkout by the Opposition from the Assembly on Monday. The LDF feels that the reallocation would shrink the panchayats' funds availability and has alleged that the step was a move to hurt the People's Plan Campaign, the pet scheme of the erstwhile Nayanar Government.

Ms. Patkar pointed out at a news conference here on Tuesday that ideally the TSP funds should be in the hands of the panchayats. However, since Kerala has a mixed population even in Wayanad and Attappadi, the funds meant for the Adivasi welfare would get diluted if they are handled by the panchayats. She noted that `in our region' (in the Narmada valley region), the funds are were handled by the panchayats, because the Adivasis were in the majority and their political outfits were in power in many panchayats.

She suggested that once the Adivasi regions in the State are put in the Fifth Schedule and Adivasi self-rule becomes a reality, the funds could be handed over to the panchayats.

Asked about the recent trend of priests and religious organisations leading people's struggle and movements in Kerala, as in the case of the Infarm spearheading the farmers' agitation for better prices, she said she found no wrong with these as long as the people's problems got highlighted and resolved. ``They have a space in the struggles,'' she said. The priests and religious organisations were taking the political space because of the ineffectiveness of the political parties and leaders. As for the criticism that the priests' intervention would lead to communalisation of such issues, she suggested that people should be `careful' about such fallout.

Ms. Patkar praised the increasing role being played by the media in the struggles of Adivasis and marginalised communities. However, she was not happy with the media focussing on individuals rather than on the movements as such media treatment tended to harm the movements.