Government of West Bengal Tribal Development Department Guidelines for implementation of the programmes under Art-275(1) As per the guidelines, letters and advisory issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) there is a perceptible change in the programmes taken up with the allotments made under Art 275(1) and in their ways/methods of implementation. Since this year (2014-15) is the first year of implementation of the programme in its changed format, an extra cautious approach is advised for sustenance of the efforts. General safeguards in regard to implementation- Following ground realities should be kept in mind during implementation of the projects1) Tribal population is less vocal, traditionally disadvantaged' and live in remote places. 2) Even when resources are allocated proportionate to the population, the actual expenditure is low because of difficulty in implementation of programmes and is further aggravated by lack of vocal demand from tribal people. 3) Consequently the Human Development Indices are lower among the tribal people vis-a-vis the population at large. Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA)/ Tribal Bhavans It is proposed that the districts with significant Tribal population will come under ITDA. The ITDAs would operate from the Tribal Bhavans to be constructed in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Dakshin Dinajpur. ITDAs are supposed to facilitate the tribal people in accessing the benefits accruing out of the projects meant for them as well act as the basic cognitive window for them. In addition ITDA s should act as the bridge between the line departments and the Tribal population of the district and provide the necessary inputs for monitoring of the individual projects meant for the tribal population. Ideally the Tribal Bhavans (office of the ITDA) a) Will have a space of 2000 sq feet b) Apart from the office accommodation there should be earmarked provisions of a small conference room, a library, a display area and a very small dormitory to accommodate visitors, officers and staffs on official tour and a transit home for the tribal people travelling. c) Efforts are afoot for posting of two engineers, one Livelihood Development Officer, one Training Co-ordinator and one Multi-tasking personnel immediately, apart from the sanctioned strength of staff and officers in the offices of the ITDAS. d) These personnel should be properly accommodated along with their computers and accessories. Defining ITDAs: Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), a registered Govt. Entity at the Sub-District level, preferably at Block level, having jurisdiction over a defined area inhabited by Tribal communities. There may be overlapping of areas of more than one Block 1|Page in a District but effort should be made to include Tribal populated mouzas which are contiguous. A Mouza Map of the area chosen may be developed through GIS facility available at the NRDMS centres of the Districts concerned (Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Dakshin Dinajpur, Bankura, Purulia & Paschim Medinipur). Geographical and socio-economic data available in digitized format with the NRDMS may be obtained also for planning process. Till formation of a registered body the ITDA will function under direct supervision and control of concerned PO-cum-DWO. District Tribal Development officers may also be associated. Concerned Block Development Officers may be informed about the recent development. BDO should be persuaded to ensure outreach and convergence of benefits derived from services and schemes of different Departments in that area. Residential provision for Tribal students- It is noticed that the drop-out rates of day-scholars among tribal students, especially the girl students, is much more than the drop-out rates of boarding schools. Also residential schools have the advantage of catering to the health needs of the children and that of protecting them from being trafficked otherwise. Consequently 30-35 seater, new Ashram Hostels may be constructed in appropriate areas with an accent on Girl students. Provisions for the following amenities should be inbuilt1) Room for conducting special ‘after school coaching’ and computer classes. This facility can be used for the weekly health check up and extra-curricular activities. 2) Proper provision of toilets along with water sources, drinking water facility and boundary wall. 3) Provision for accommodation of supervising staffs. Six such Ashram Hostels have been considered initially @1 in Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Dakshin Dinajpur, Bankura, Purulia & Paschim Medinipur Districts. PO-cum-DWOs are to arrange land and send proposals. Upkeep of the school-attached hostelsMaintenance is hardly taken up in school attached hostels for paucity of funds. Provision has been made to take up the maintenance of these hostels and the Three-men- Committee should determine the scale of maintenance keeping in mind that maximum number of hostels should be covered with this fund. In addition to this fund efforts should be taken to tap other sources (MP,MLA LAD, funds from School Education Department etc) so that the hostels are properly maintained. Maintenance of Toilet, running water facility, safe drinking water and electricity connections are the priority areas. Upkeep of the Ashram hostelsIn West Bengal there are 217 Ashram Hostels where tribal students are accommodated. Maintenance of these Ashram Hostels need to be taken up with an emphasis on providing /repairing of Drinking Water facility, toilets and the doors and windows of the residential areas and electricity connections. 2|Page Infrastructure Facility for computer education and Special Coaching Classes in 217 Ashram HostelsWhile providing these facilities the model of EMRS should be adopted and the general guiding tenets will be1) The teachers engaged herein should have proper proven track record. Engagement of unemployed youth and such others is explicitly discouraged. 2) Special ’After-school coaching’ may be provided in science subjects, Maths, English, vernacular and Computer as per the demand of the students. In general it is conceived that there will be at least eight classes in one subject/per month and the teachers’ remuneration can be as per the EMRS scale. In deserving cases transport support can be provided to the teachers. 3) The * computers and furniture should be procured as per DGS&D rate and the configuration should be vetted by NIC of the district. There is absolutely no need for high end configurations. Further care should be taken to ensure that maximum ‘hands- on’ practice facility is provided to the inmates. Consumables and electricity charges should also be provisioned from the fund allocated. [ * 1 PC with standard peripherals/ 5 students] Sinking of tube-wells and upkeep/maintenance of existing Drinking water sourcesDrinking water facility as per PHE norms should be provided and effort should be made to cover maximum number of tribal hamlets. General tenets1) Financial propriety should be maintained in implementing the projects. 2) As far as practicable support of the line departments should be drafted. 3) Priority in indentifying and implementing of the schemes/projects should be according to number of beneficiaries and remoteness i.e. the projects which cater to maximum beneficiaries or remote areas should be taken up first. 4) Hostel maintenance and upkeep should invariably be linked with the hostel maintenance software. 5) Convergence with other departments in terms of fund and facility allocation should be the crux of the approach to Tribal Development. 6) Periodic information as per schedule should be communicated to the Department and Directorate. 3|Page