THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of halving nine scholarships for minority community students, the state govt has slashed funding for 27 out of 49

tribal welfare schemes

, all in the name of its financial crisis. The state is home to 1.5 lakh tribal families and at least one-fourth of them depend on these programmes for housing, education, self-employment and social security.
Many crucial initiatives were either dropped altogether or their funds drastically reduced in line with the govt decision to halve the Plan size, raising serious concerns about its commitment to

social justice and equity

.

Despite claims of priority in the Plan cut implementation, the measures raise a critical question: Should marginalised populations, like tribals and minority students, bear the brunt of the financial crisis?

With zero funds allocated this year, Gotra Valsalya Nidhi, providing insurance coverage for every tribal girl child at birth, is one major programme affected. Similarly, the Unnathi scheme - seeking to promote self-entrepreneurship among tribals - saw its funding cut completely. Tribal melas, vital for artisans to showcase their products, also lost substantial financial backing.

Funds for “oorukkoottams”, the tribal assemblies that finalise welfare programmes, were reduced from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 1 crore, limiting their ability to function effectively. The laptops scheme for tribal students, which benefits 300 to 350 students annually, saw its funds trimmed from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 2.5 crore, affecting their access to higher education and online resources.
Among programmes that were scaled down, the food support programme for trib- al families, many of them fighting malnutrition, saw its funds reduced to Rs 20 crore from Rs 25 crore. Those for the resettlement of landless tribals were trimmed to Rs 22 crore from Rs 42 crore. The assistance for self-employment and skill development training was also reduced to Rs 5.1 crore from Rs 9 crore.
The govt has claimed that the housing scheme for tribals under Life Mission remains untouched, with Rs 140 crore allocated this year, but only 25% of the overall allocation has been spent so far. If this trend continues, the earmarked funds may remain largely unutilised.
The Valsalya Nidhi Insurance Scheme, aimed at improving the education and social status of scheduled caste girls, was dropped altogether. Several schemes for scheduled caste communities also faced reduction. The funds for the housing scheme for landless scheduled caste families were reduced to Rs 120 crore from Rs 300 crore, those for completing partially constructed houses to Rs 173.06 crore from Rs 222.06 crore and those for the marriage assistance scheme for scheduled caste women to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 86 lakh.
The cut in tribal and scheduled caste welfare schemes, which represents a systematic withdrawal of support for the most vulnerable sections, has drawn sharp reactions. “Even after all these years of independence, tribal communities continue to be marginalised. They have not fully been integrated into the mainstream. It is not fair to cut schemes for them, regardless of the circumstances. What is needed is to find more funds,” said KS Rajendraprasad, president of Thambu, an NGO working for the upliftment of the tribal population.