New direction to the development of tribal society – First meeting of the Tribal Advisory Council chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai

Raipur, 11 March 2025: The first meeting of the Chhattisgarh Tribal Advisory Council after its reconstitution was held today in the committee room located in the Vidhan Sabha premises under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai. Important issues related to empowerment of tribal community, education, socio-economic upliftment, administrative reforms and cultural preservation were discussed in the meeting. Cabinet Minister and Vice President of Tribal Advisory Council Ramvichar Netam, senior ministers of the state, MLAs, administrative officers and all members of the council were present in the meeting.

Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai welcomed all the members in the first meeting of the council and said that the population of tribal community in Chhattisgarh is 32%, and their overall development is the priority of our state. This council is not only a forum for discussion, but is an important constitutional unit for policy-making and decision-implementation. He directed for immediate action on all the valuable suggestions put forward in the meeting and asked the officials to ensure a solution by conducting a detailed study to redress the errors related to the caste certificate of the tribal community. Arrangements should be made to include Sarna sites along with Devgudi for the conservation and development of tribal faith sites. To improve education, the problem of teacher-less and single teacher schools in tribal areas should be solved quickly. Economic empowerment schemes for the tribal community should be implemented effectively so that their per capita income increases. Cabinet Minister Ramvichar 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 convey the government’s schemes to the community. He assured to effectively incorporate the decisions taken by the council in policy-making.

All the members present in the meeting gave concrete suggestions regarding education, livelihood, socio-economic development and administrative reforms of the tribal community. Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai directed for quick and effective implementation of all the proposals and asked the officials to ensure that the real benefits of policy reforms reach the tribal community. This meeting will prove to be an important milestone towards the development and self-reliance of tribal society. In the meeting, the members of the council presented their suggestions on many important topics related to the socio-economic development of the tribal community, including 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 empower the traditional livelihood of tribals, implementing special schemes for the preservation and promotion of tribal art, culture and traditions.

In the meeting, Principal Secretary of Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Department Sonamni Bora gave a presentation on various agenda points and presented detailed information before the council. On this occasion, Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, MLA Ms. Lata Usendi, Mrs. Shankutala Singh Porte, Mrs. Uddeshwari Pankra, Mrs. Raimuni Bhagat, Mrs. Gomti Sai, MLA Ramkumar Toppo, Pranav Kumar Marpachchi, Vikram Usendi, Asharam Netam, Neelkanth Tekam, Mr. Vinayak Goyal, Chaitram Atami along with nominated members Raghuraj Singh Uike and Krishna Kumar Vaishnav were present. Senior administrative officers were present in the meeting, including Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain, Director General of Police Arun Dev Gautam, Additional Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Pingua, Mrs. Richa Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Subodh Singh, Principal Secretary of Panchayat Department Mrs. Niharika Barik Singh, Secretary of Health Department Amit Kataria, Secretary Rajesh Sukumar Toppo, Secretary of School Education Department Siddharth Komal Pardeshi, Commissioner Padum Singh Elma and other officers were present.