Minister Nityananda Gond reviewing the various programmes and schemes of the STSC Development

Bhubaneswar:21/6/24: Minister of School and Mass Education, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Nityananda Gond, while reviewing the various programmes and schemes of the STSC Development M&BCW Department today, called for massive awareness programmes to identify young people to be the voice of the deprived and taking various livelihood related programmes to the grassroots.

While reviewing the work of the ST & SC Development M&BCW Department at SCSTRTI Conference Hall this afternoon, the Minister also asked the officials of the Department to go for a new scheme to construct Multi-purpose Community Centres for tribal people across the state and Urban Residential Programmes in and around the State Capital to accommodate stay and food for the tribal family members and students.

Calling for inclusion of Class XI and XII students under the ANWESHA Scheme to provide quality English medium education for bright tribal boys and girls in urban areas, he also stressed need for more hostel facilities for SC and OBC boys and girls across the state through State schemes as they are still facing difficulties while availing higher education. He also emphasized on the Aadhar inclusion of the PVTG groups as Odisha is home to 64 tribal communities and 13 Primitive Tribal Groups. In order to provide the tribal people an economic boost he also asked the Department officials to make provision for minor forest produce (MFP) procurement at gram panchayat level and make the GPs serve as procurement units.

The Minister also asked the officials and staff for all-round cooperation and makes a 100-Day Action Plan and a Vision Document to take the reach of the department to a new-level. The Minister was briefed on various schemes, programmes, initiatives and activities undertaken by the STSC Development M&BCW Department by Commissioner-cum-Secretary Smt. Roopa Roshan Sahoo and other senior officials.

During his review, the Minister also suggested that to make the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jati Abhyuday Yojna (PM-AJAY) more people-centric, district level meeting and awareness should also be held at GP-level. Saying that timely disbursal of agricultural inputs must be ensured for livelihood schemes like Mukhya Mantri Janajati Jeevika Mission, the Minister asked the senior officials to include more and more PVTG groups through State schemes and Pradhan Mantri Janajati Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).

Terming the unused government buildings (both under State and Centre jurisdiction) as a seer wastage of the public exchequer, the Minister advised the Department officials to map such structures across the State and use them for the hostel purposes of the SC,ST, OBC and minority communities across Odisha.

Praising the Koraput Coffee as a unique tribal product from Odisha, which is gaining world-wide praise from the connoisseurs of quality and organic coffee, the Minister also asked for up-scaling the product so that the tribal groups involved in the processing and cultivation would benefit.