Naidu Announces Rs.8,570 Crore Push for Adivasi
Naidu’s announcement of an alternative to GO No. 3 came during a tribal welfare programme, where the Chief Minister outlined various development initiatives for the state's 28.32 lakh Scheduled Tribe population.
Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the state government would introduce alternative measures to protect the interests of tribal people after the Supreme Court struck down the crucial AP government order (GO) No. 3, which ensured 100 per cent reservations for the Adivasi in teaching posts.
Speaking at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations at Vanjangi in Paderu mandal on Saturday, he revealed that GO No. 3 had been originally issued by the NTR government in 1986 to safeguard the employment rights of tribal people. The GO got rescinded due to what he termed "negligence of previous administrations."
The Chief Minister emphasised the potential of Araku Coffee as a global brand, noting that coffee is cultivated over 2.58 lakh acres across 11 mandals in the Paderu agency, supporting 2.46 lakh people's livelihoods. He said plans are afoot to increase coffee plantations over another one lakh acres.
Naidu’s announcement of an alternative to GO No. 3 came during a tribal welfare programme, where the Chief Minister outlined various development initiatives for the state's 28.32 lakh Scheduled Tribe population. He emphasised that overall development of AP is only possible when tribal communities progress in all aspects.
The CM said the state currently provides NTR Bharosa monthly pensions to 3,77,051 tribals, incurring an annual expenditure of ₹1,595 crore. Additionally, ₹642 crore are being transferred directly into the mothers' accounts under the Thalliki Vandanam scheme for the education of 4,86,803 tribal students.
Naidu said the government is establishing five multi-specialty hospitals in tribal areas at a cost of ₹482 crore. Other special provisions for tribal people include monthly pensions of ₹10,000 for 1,487 sickle cell patients, and nutrition packages and transport support for pregnant women.
He said 269 km of national highways have connected 203 tribal villages in just one year at a cost of ₹200 crore. Projects worth ₹8,570 crore are being implemented while building 515 km of national highways through tribal districts.
The Chief Minister said the government is investing ₹150 crore to convert residential school buildings into hostels and spending ₹4.5 crore to establish study circles in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati for ST students, so that they can take part in competitive exams.