Panchayats, sarpanchs and panch members across Goa have been on a war footing to reach tribal welfare schemes to the ST community members but in municipal areas, residents cry foul on their councilors not doing enough to help the ST community.
The Margao municipal council has a total of 5,000 people from the Scheduled Tribes community out of a 30,000 population as per the last census of Goa Population 2011.
“Firstly that census itself is false. We’re a population of over 6,000 people. The anganwadi, balwadi workers and other government servants who carried out these surveys for the census skipped homes at Tolsanzor, Monte Hill and in the interiors of Chandrawaddo and Murida out of lethargy and the numbers are wrongly recorded hence, the reservation for the number of ST councilors in this Margao Municipal Council is false,” explains Seby Fernandes from Borda.
Similarly councilor Tito Cardozo whose father Alex Mama Carodozo is one of Goa first ST MLAs and Minister from the ST community. Tito points out that ST Community gets a reservation of 12.5% and hence should have got three out of 25 seats reserved for ST but the DMA only allotted two seats reducing ST representation in the MMC.
“ST community has schemes under PWD, Directorate of Municipal Authority and Directorate of Tribal Welfare for construction of roads, a community hall of up to Rs 2 crores, Rs 20,000 for funeral expenses and stipend for students of high school and higher secondary besides assistance for purchase of mundkarial house and assistance for house repairs,” points out Tito while telling us the options for ST people in municipal areas. Tito explains to us that only 4 out of 25 including the 2 reserved seats are councilors from the ST community.
“It’s so difficult to get a scheme passed under ST funds and half the time it all goes unutilized. Our Chief officer and chairperson is unaware of schemes and formalities and it’s impossible to keep going to Panjim to find out about schemes and following up on the paper work and hence our people don’t benefit. I plan to take a resolution at the next council meeting, so that MMC can process these schemes and ST people can benefit,” explains Jose Fernandes, ST Councilor from ward number seven.
Similarly Terence Barbosa, another ST councilor from ward number four tells us that, the government needs to relax the formalities and the MMC needs to be a little more proactive and sensitive to the St community. While urban areas have to tackle garbage, better roads, sanitation and building gutters but in pockets of the urban towns of Margao and in the suburbs of Borda, Fatorda and Aquem, a huge chunk of ST population is totally ignored.
“Panchayat secretaries, BDo offices are trained to implement tribal welfare schemes. It’s easy to get the stipend of Rs 3,000 annually for High School students or Rs 5,000 for HSSC students or the Rs- 20,000 for death of an ST member. But low interest loans of below 3% of upto Rs two lakhs for purchase of mundkarial house or house repairs is very difficult to get from the Directorate of Tribal Welfare as the municipal engineer has to inspect the property and municipal engineers take no interest in ST welfare schemes and hence people fail to benefit,” alleges Tito of ward number eight. Tito asserts that the government has to do a rethink to ensure that ST funds are spend and don’t go unutilized. He points out that the DMA itself has around Rs 50 lakhs for ST welfare works but because of government formalities and lack of knowledge of the MMC, this money goes back and even the Urban Development Minister Francis Dsouza is aware of this situation.
The other ST councilor Peter Fernandes of ward five was unavailable for comments.
“People in villages in Goa get assistance for dairy farms, agriculture, subsidy for ploughing the fields and on seed and many waivers on phone, water and light bills but the government doesn’t understand that the same can be extended in Margao also as the ST population here also cultivates fields. The MMC should the initiative but sadly it has done its bit till date and we have to toil,” explains Milagrina Fernandes from Agalli, Borda.
