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Raipur, March 11, 2025: In the first ever meeting of the re-constituted Chhattisgarh Tribal Advisory Council, chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, today discussed several important issues related to empowerment of tribal community, their education, socio-economic upliftment, administrative reforms and cultural preservation.
The meeting, held in the premises of the Chhattisgarh Assembly, was attended by Tribal Development Minister and Vice Chairman of Tribal Advisory Council Ram Vichar Netam, senior ministers, MLAs, officers and the members of the council.
The population of tribal community in Chhattisgarh is 32 per cent and their overall development is the priority of the state government, said Chief Minister Sai.
“This council is not only a forum for discussion, but an important constitutional unit for policy-making and decision-implementation,” he added.
The Chief Minister also directed the officials to take immediate actions on all the suggestions that were submitted in the meeting and also asked the officials to conduct a detailed study to resolve the errors related to the caste certificate of the tribal community.
He also asked the officials to take steps to protect and develop the places of tribal faiths, include Devgudi and Sarna sites, official sources said.
Sai also issued instruction to solve the problem of teacherless and single teacher schools in tribal areas as soon as possible to improve quality of education.
Economic empowerment schemes of the tribal community should be implemented effectively, so that their per capita income increases, he added.
Tribal Development Minister Ram Vichar Netam said that Chhattisgarh Tribal Advisory Council acts as a strong bridge between the government and the tribal society. “All of us (members) represent one-third of the population of the state, so it is our responsibility to effectively deliver the government’s schemes to the community,” he added.
In the meeting, members of the Council presented their suggestions on many important issues related to the socio-economic development of the tribal community, which include increasing the number and facilities of hostels for tribal girls, encouraging employment and recruitment process at the local level in tribal dominated areas, better availability of health services and expansion of medical facilities in tribal areas, implementing special schemes to strengthen the traditional livelihood of tribals, implementing special schemes for the preservation and promotion of tribal art, culture and traditions.
In the meeting, Principal Secretary Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Department Sonamni Bora gave a presentation on various agenda points and the steps the government has been taking for the welfare of the tribal community.
On this occasion, Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, MLAs Lata Usendi, Shankutala Singh Porte, Uddeshwari Painkra, Raimuni Bhagat, Gomti Sai, Ramkumar Toppo, Pranav Kumar Marpachchi, Vikram Usendi, Asharam Netam, Neelkanth Tekam, Vinayak Goyal, Chaitram Atami along with nominated members Raghuraj Singh Uike and Krishna Kumar Vaishnav were present.
Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain, Director General of Police Arun Dev Gautam, Additional Chief Secretary Home Manoj Kumar Pingua, Additional Chief Secretary Forest Richa Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Subodh Singh, Principal Secretary Panchayat Niharika Barik Singh, Health Secretary Amit Kataria, Secretary Rajesh Sukumar Toppo, School Education Secretary Siddharth Komal Pardeshi, Commissioner Padum Singh Elma and other officials were present.
