THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The scheduled tribe population in the state is showing an unacceptable divergence between census figures and the numbers thrown up by the comprehensive ST Survey conducted in 2008. The confusion in the numbers has affected planning, especially the implementation of programmes targeted at the ST population. This was revealed in a study conducted by the State Planning Board. The ST population in the state increased from 3,64,189 in 2001 to 4,26,208 in 2008, when the survey was done.
This meant a population growth of 17.03 percent. During 1991-2001 the decadal growth of ST population in the State was 13.466 per cent only. This, according to the study, “is definitely a realistic decennial growth rate as no new community was added to or omitted from the existing ST list in Kerala.” But the ST population growth rate of 17.03 per cent during 2001-2008, the study says, is “obviously a bit high growth rate”, more so because the estimated size of the deleted and non-co-operative ST population (74,767) is slightly more than the added population (68,218). The Planning Board study states that the seven- year growth rate of ST population (2001-2008) cannot go beyond 10 per cent.
Another drawback is the unrealistic high growth rate of ST Population in Census 2011 as compared to 2008. “It is significant to note that the ST population in Kerala cannot show a growth rate of 13.76 per cent in 3 years (from 2008 to 2011),” the study notes. “Even if all the uncovered ST persons of ST survey 2008 were included in the Census 2011, the three year growth rate of 13.76 per cent from 2008 is impractical,” it adds. Two possible reasons are attributed to the mismatch. One, the ST survey 2008 failed to collect information from a portion of ST families. Two, non-ST families might have been classified as ST in the census data 2011.
