Government to set up National Tribal Advisory Council Government has decided to set up a National Tribal Advisory Council for effecting monitoring and implementation of various tribal welfare schemes. This was announced by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram while addressing the conference of Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of Tribal Welfare from States/UTs held in New Delhi today to discuss and evolve strategies for the overall development of tribal communities. The council will be chaired by the Prime Minister and will meet once or twice in a year. The Minister stressed the need for more effective community participation for the success of various tribal welfare schemes. He said We can not achieve significant results unless we involve members of the society in the implementation process of various schemes. The conference should have special focus on this issue. He said though there has been significant improvement in terms of infrastructure in education sector for tribals but the quality of education has not improved in the same way. Shri Oram said the same is true with reference to primary health care for tribals. He said these issues require urgent attention. Referring to the problems of sixth scheduled states of northeast, Shri Oram said their problems are quite different in nature and we should hold a regional conference for them in Guwahati. The Minister directed his Ministry officials to release 50 per cent of the tribal welfare funds to the states in the first quarter of the next financial year. He said by third quarter of the financial year 80 per cent of the funds should be released to the states. The Minister urged the state governments to release the funds received from the centre in the same way for various tribal welfare schemes. The daylong conference had detailed deliberations including power point presentations by the state representatives on various issues concerning the tribal welfare schemes. Samir/jk
