TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: There’s good news in store for scheduled tribe beneficiaries of social welfare schemes.
Intended beneficiaries need no longer travel to Panjim to process their forms in the future with the social welfare department planning to implement the schemes at the taluka level through the block development offices.
That’s not all. The government has placed sufficient funds at the disposal of the tribal welfare department to modify the existing schemes and to work out new schemes towards the upliftment of the scheduled tribes
As part of decentralisation plan, director fortribal welfare Sandhya Kamat on Sunday said the schemes will be implemented at the taluka level. Field assistants will be deputed in every taluka to take of the procedure relating to documentation and other formalities.
Speaking at the seminar cum awareness camp organised by the Raia panchayat and and the tribal welfare directorate, Kamat further said that attempts are underway to drastically cut down the procedure so that benefits of the schemes reach beneficiaries at the shortest possible time.
The tribal welfare director appealed to the village panchayats to create awareness about the schemes for the ST community, saying that a number of departments, including art and culture have worked out schemes for the STs.
On the implementation of ‘Atal Aasra Yojana’, Kamat said a total of 1200 beneficiaries were availing benefits of the scheme out of the 5000 applications received so far.
Scheduled Tribes Commission chairperson A S Shirvoikar told the gathering that the ST Commission, which was constituted way back in 2011 enjoys powers of a civil court, while calling upon the departments to formulate schemes for the scheduled tribes.
The government has placed sufficient funds at the disposal of the tribal welfare department to modify the existing schemes and to work out new schemes towards the upliftment of the scheduled tribes
