A Significant Chunk of Funds Remains Untouched as House Panel Voices Concerns
The government's drive to uplift vulnerable tribal communities is faltering, with a parliamentary committee flagging "slow and tardy" progress in executing multi-ministry flagship programs. A substantial portion of allocated funds remains unspent, raising questions about the effectiveness of implementation and inter-ministerial coordination.
A Departmentally-related Standing Committee (DRSC) has critically examined the performance of various ministries tasked with delivering on ambitious schemes for tribal populations. The committee's findings, based on data submitted regarding programs like the 'Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan' (PM-JANMAN) and the 'Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan', paint a picture of lagging execution.
Key Areas of Concern:
Housing and Infrastructure Deficits: The Ministry of Rural Development, despite a target of 4.7 lakh pucca homes, has only completed the construction of 2.6 lakh. Similarly, road construction has fallen far short of expectations, with only 1,883 km built against a target of 7,317 km.
Educational Facilities Lag: The Ministry of Education has shown particularly weak performance in providing essential facilities, having completed only 10 out of 500 sanctioned hostels. Work has commenced on 296, but the overall pace is a major point of contention.
Financial Underutilization: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs itself, while overseeing the PM-JANMAN initiative, could only utilize ₹19.25 crore out of the ₹150 crore earmarked for the current financial year (up to February 2025). This represents a stark underutilization of resources.
Broad Scope of PM-JANMAN: The PM-JANMAN scheme, designed to reach Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) across nine line ministries and 11 intervention areas, aims for saturation in aspects like health, education, nutrition, connectivity, and provision of basic amenities like solar panels and sanitation. The ‘Dharti Aaba Janbhagidari Abhiyan’ is also noted as a significant tribal outreach initiative.
"On the glance of expenditure incurred and the number of villages saturated out of the targeted 29,000 villages, the committee opined that the progress of work is slow and requires to be expedited to complete the given task within the stipulated period."
The committee has also expressed "apprehension" regarding the essential coordination between different government departments. The success of these comprehensive programs, which span multiple sectors and target a significant number of villages (29,000 are mentioned in the context of saturation), is heavily reliant on seamless inter-ministerial collaboration.
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Background:
The government has committed substantial financial resources to tribal welfare. A cabinet approval in September 2024 sanctioned ₹79,156 crore for tribal communities under various initiatives, including the 'Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan' (PMJUGA). This umbrella package outlines extensive targets, such as providing 20 lakh pucca homes, laying 25,000 km of roads, electrifying approximately 2.35 lakh households, and extending broadband connectivity to 5,000 tribal villages.
The PM-JANMAN scheme, launched in 2023-24, specifically targets 75 PVTG communities residing across 18 states and one Union Territory. The intent behind these programs is to address the unique developmental needs of tribal groups, many of whom reside in remote and underdeveloped areas, and to ensure their inclusion in national progress. The challenges highlighted by the parliamentary committee suggest a significant disconnect between the planning and execution phases of these vital welfare measures.
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