Having become the district collector (DC) of Sirohi barely a month ago, Madan Singh Kala, a Rajasthan Administrative Service officer who spent about five years in Jaipur with the state transport office, has loads of plans up his sleeves for a district that seems as different from the state capital as chalk is from cheese. “I am pained by the plight of the tribal people of Sirohi,” he tells Governance Now, while unveiling his take on the ground situation and development strategy.

 Excerpts from the interview:

As the DC, what are your priorities for Sirohi? 

Sirohi is primarily a tribal district with three of the five blocks inhabited by tribal people. Their development is my first priority. Recently, I went to Arunafali, a tribal village in Pindwara block. It is located in difficult terrain and people there live in a pitiable state. (In fact) I was the first collector to visit the village.

I want to convert that fali (hamlet) into a revenue village and ensure development reaches them. I will ensure electricity and water, the two demands of the people, reach them at the earliest possible.

Also read more Reports from Other India
Dummy’s guide on how a district is administered
Nalanda gets tech aid for eye on child training, health
In open defecation area, village says hello to own loo
Odisha’s date with grassroots democracy
Bleak board: a ‘scam’ to build ghost schools
MNREGS: Guaranteed work, really?
Nalanda’s entrepreneur who spawned a revolution
What stinks so bad in Orissa CM’s constituency?
The two halves of Abu Road block

There are many such hamlets in Abu Road, a block with 80 percent tribal population. Anganwadi centres don’t run here, sub-centres do not open, and the education system is in a mess. How do you plan to address these problems?

I want all these falis and villages to develop. I want to implement all government schemes — both central and state-level — in all earnestness.

It’s said that the most crucial scheme run by the state for welfare of tribals, the Tribal Area Development (TAD) scheme, exists only on paper…

That’s not correct. You cannot make everyone happy; TAD is doing fine.

But apart from the hostels run for tribals under TAD, no other benefit reaches them. Is that true?

Tribals are very independent in nature but are rooted to their customs and traditions. They cannot be brought down from the hills. So we have to implement the welfare schemes keeping in mind their inclination for jal/jangal/zameen (water, forest and land).

What about education — the implementation of Right to Education (RTE)?

RTE is being implemented in letter and spirit, though I don’t have any figures at present.

Forty percent schools in the district have only one teacher, 25-30 percent students drop out by the time they reach class VIII and female literacy rate, especially in Abu Road block, is very low. How do you plan to tackle these?

I agree manpower is an issue (and for that) I am starting a scheme called ‘Gyandaan’, as part of which retired government official would voluntarily teach students in allocated schools. The SDM of Mount Abu is working hard to get girls in tribal areas enrolled in neighbourhood schools.

He (SDM) has recently started an initiative called ‘Ab Muniya Padhegi’ (literally, now girls will study) to encourage tribal families to get their daughters enrolled in schools.

Your take on health situation in the district?

Our primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) are very well-equipped. They handle scores of patients every day. Besides, our mobile units are also doing a good job.

But sir, many CHCs are functional only on paper, with no specialist in some of them. Many sub-centres, crucial to remote villages, do not open at all, and I have visited some in Abu Road block that have never opened their gates and the villagers have never seen their auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs). 

I agree there is crunch of manpower. Ab kya karein (what can we do?). See, development has its own pace — it cannot take place in one day. It will take time.

How is NREGS faring in the district?

In my short tenure I have learnt that people are not taking up jobs under the scheme. As far as I recall, only 2,000 people are working under the scheme at present.

What do you think is the reason for such low participation of people under NREGS?

My staff tell me that agriculture is the main source of income of people in the district and most people have their own land. So I think they do not need to take up work under NREGS.