Several tribal people in the combined Nellore and Prakasam districts are unable to enjoy the benefits of various government welfare schemes as they do not have the documents that can be used as proof of identity.
The two districts in south coastal Andhra Pradesh have a tribal population of more than 3 lakh, but the beneficiaries of social security pensions are significantly less.
Yanadi, Chenchu, Yerukula and Nakkala are some of the primitive tribal groups living in these two districts. However, a majority of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) are from the Yanadi community. Many of them depend on hunting for their livelihood. With no proofs of identity such as Aadhaar card and ration card, they are not able to avail of the government services and subsidised food grains.
During a recent visit to the Venkatagiri Poleramma Jatara, Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy observed the plight of the tribal people.
On the way to the temple, Mr. Chandramohan Reddy spoke to a tribal family going on a wooden rickshaw at Dakkili in search of scrap. He interacted with another tribal family near Nelatur facing a similar situation on the Mamidipudi-Muthukur Road.
“The previous government had completely ignored the welfare of tribal people. It is sad to see the children of tribal people not dressed properly. It is very sad that these children, who need to go to the school to learn and play, are collecting scrap along with their parents. I gave them some money to buy clothes. But that is not a permanent solution,” Mr. Chandramohan Reddy told The Hindu.
“When I asked the parents of these children as to why they are not sending their wards to government schools, they said it was due to lack of identity proof. It is not the fault of the innocent tribal people. The government officials have failed to provide them an Aadhaar card despite having a secretariat in each village with up to 12 employees,” he said, directing the officials concerned to provide them the necessary proofs of identity.
Mr. Chandramohan Reddy had adopted a tribal village, Mallikarjunapuram, in 2016. He had adopted Pynampuram the previous month. Almost 50% of 98 tribal families in this village did not have Aadhaar card. Among those who had Aadhaar card, 19 eligible beneficiaries were not getting social pensions, he said.
According to the officials of Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) for Yanadis located in Nellore district, a survey was done to identify the number of families without Aadhaar card eight months ago, but it could not be completed as some households were not mapped, while a few others migrated to other districts.
Ongole MLA Damacherala Janardhan said steps would be taken to issue Aadhaar cards to the tribal people in his constituency. He said all the eligible beneficiaries would be provided pension, house plots and job opportunities. He said the government would also provide infrastructure facilities in the tribal housing site, near Pothuraju Canal.
Though the government had provided houses to 55 households of Nakkala tribe on the outskirts of Ongole, they were still living near the bus stand. They had been residing there for 30 years since their migration from Chennai. They have ration card and pension card. The Tribal Welfare Department is conducting special camps at the mandal headquarters to provide them Aadhaar cards.
For the Chenchu tribe located at Sundipenta village of Nandyal district, the ITDA is conducting a survey in the districts of Prakasam, Palnadu and Nandyal.
ITDA-Chenchu Assistant Project Officer Suresh Kumar said three mobile teams were working in the three districts to register the tribal people on Aadhaar in their habitat.
Domicile certificate
Revealing the reasons for the delay in issuing Aadhaar cards to the tribal people, he said, “Proof of age such as birth certificate is mandatory for Aadhaar enrolment. As the tribal people do not have such a proof, the State government must pass an order to accept domicile certificate issued by the MRO. We are waiting for the government order.”
Published - October 01, 2024 07:34 pm IST
