Percentage of STs in NREGS going down

Maoist insurgency to blame?

brajesh

Brajesh Kumar | March 11, 2010



The percentage of scheduled tribes (STs) among beneficiaries of the  central government’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been decreasing over the years.

As per the reports submitted to the rural development ministry by the states, beneficiaries belonging to STs dwindled from 36% during 2006-07 to 29% in 2007-08, 25% in 2008-09 and 20.88% in 2009-10.

One of the reasons behind the sharp decline of STs in partaking of the poverty alleviation scheme, say officials, is the reluctance of STs living in the Maoist-affected areas in participating in NREGS.

While it cannot be said with certainty if the Maoists have been forcing the STs to stay away from the central government sponsored scheme, the state-wise breakup of the STs participation in the scheme points towards this, said an official.

In Chhattisgarh, the percentage of STs has gone down from 41.32% in 2008-09 to 38.79% in 2009-10, in West Bengal from 14.81% to 13.57%, and in Maharashtra from 44.17% to 20.59% for the same period.

Curiously, though, the percentage of STs in Jharkhand and Orissa, the two other Maoist-affected state has gone up in the past two years. While Jharkhand saw an increase of 2.78%, in Orissa it was 1.46%.
The percentage of SCs and women, the other two intended beneficiaries of the scheme has gone down too. While 47% of the beneficiaries were women 2008-09, the number went down to 34% in 2009-10. Similarly the SCs' participation went down from 29 in 2008-09 to 20.


 

Comments

 

Other News

Doctors, experts call for ban on junk food ads, mandate warning labels

More than 30 doctors, medical scientists and public health professionals have urged the government to take decisive action against the aggressive advertising and marketing of junk food, calling for a watershed ban on advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) and ultra-processed foods (UPF

Asiatic Lion population rises from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025

On World Lion Day 2026, environment, forest and climate change Minister  Bhupender Yadav celebrated India’s remarkable journey in lion conservation and reaffirmed the country’s unwavering commitment to protecting wildlife and biodiversity.   In a post on soc

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

GI tags: Scaling traditional wealth into global brands

Geographical Indication (GI) tags have emerged as a powerful tool for protecting India`s cultural heritage, while creating economic opportunities for local communities. By linking products to their place of origin, GI tags preserve traditional knowledge, prevent misuse, and enhance consumer trust. They h

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter