A tribal ministry was created to protect tribal interests. The fifth and sixth schedule in the constitution have also been made for tribal interest. A tribal society is a society whose civilization, culture and system are completely different. Demand has been kept for years to establish its place in the census for taking tribals.
A proposal related to the demand for Sarna Adivasi Dharma Code has been sent from the Jharkhand Assembly. We hope that the Indian government will consider it sympathetically. Chief Minister Hemant Soren said these things. The Chief Minister was speaking at a virtual meeting of the Governing Council 2021 of NITI Aayog.
The Chief Minister said that often in the order of field visits, we get an opportunity to talk to the elders. The elders complain that they are not getting pension benefits. The concerned officials say that the target has been completed. Can such old people not be benefited by giving universal pension. The pension amount has not been increased by the central government since 2007. However, the state government has increased it from the state fund. The Union Government should consider universalizing the pension. The Chief Minister said that the State Government wants to increase the purchasing power of the villagers. For this, special attention is being given to agriculture, social security, health, education and infrastructure development. The state government is working towards giving agriculture status to lacquer and silk farming. I think that India will become a self-reliant country only when there is empowerment of rural areas. It is necessary to focus on how the economic resources of the villagers grow.
The Chief Minister said that Jharkhand is a labor-intensive state. There is a need to consider how to generate employment for them. 202 has been marked as a wage rate by the central government, which is lower than other states of the country. In today’s era, the workers of Jharkhand are benefiting less from the MNREGA action plan. The central government should increase this marked wage rate. Also, there is a need to re-think the law made for workers. In the absence of strong law, middlemen ignore the interests of workers. Recently, the workers who went to work for NTPC and BRO in Uttarakhand have faced a lot of difficulties.
The Chief Minister said that Jharkhand is a mineral-dominated state. These issues are discussed between the state and the center, but it is not proving beneficial. In addition to mining royalty, District Minerals Foundation Trust Fund, the central government should consider the direction of partnership. This will help the residents here to move forward. Because the people here not only have to suffer financially, but also mentally dislocated.
The Chief Minister said that any state needs to be financially strong. The share given by the central government to Jharkhand in the budget is 1750 crores. But it was reduced to 1200 crores. Due to this, the state is losing crores. Also, in the Corona transition period, Rs 2131 crore was deducted from the state government account by DVC, while this fund was necessary for Jharkhand in this difficult period, because it is a labor-intensive state.
The Chief Minister said that a large part of Jharkhand is covered with forest-cladding. In setting up any type of industry, it is difficult for the state government’s industries and entrepreneurs to take forest clearance. Also, there is difficulty in providing equivalent land in lieu of acquired land. Considering these issues, if the central government works towards making it flexible, then a state like Jharkhand will also be able to establish industries.
Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, Principal Secretary Himani Pandey, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Rajiv Arun Ekka and others were present in the meeting.
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