Pune: President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said a wider "convergence mechanism at the policy level" is required to leverage the available resources for the development of tribal communities.
"Tribal development, as one of our pressing priorities, underlines the need to strengthen the existing institutions. It calls for addressing the development and administration deficits in tribal areas to improve human development parameters of the tribal population," he said.
"There are a multitude of national and state level organisations working towards tribal development. A wider convergence mechanism at the policy level is required to leverage the resources available."
The President was speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of Tribal Research and Training Institute of the government of Maharashtra here.
"The tribal customary laws must be codified to enable statutory provisions being exercised effectively for mitigating vulnerability of the tribal people to any exploitation. Periodic assessment reports must be brought out to advice the administration on the implementation of tribal development programmes. More institutions like yours must be nurtured. Funds to research organisations to study tribal issues must be enhanced. This will help systematise and prioritise tribal development planning," the President said.
Understanding the gender behaviour and relations in tribal communities holds significant lessons for the society at large, at a time when the entire country is gripped by concerns about women`s safety and security as well as by moral challenges, Mukherjee noted.
Noting that many tribal blocks still continue to rank low on the human development indicators, he said the tribal development administration has to focus on human development apart from according primacy to survival issues.
"There has to be coordinating mechanisms cutting across different departments and agencies to ensure effective delivery of services.
"Integrated tribal development projects have to be fully empowered financially and administratively to become real change agents, ensuring effective implementation," he said.
The tribal communities are known to have customarily maintained a symbiotic relationship with nature, without ever exploiting natural resources, he said.
The President complimented the institute for reaching a milestone in catering to the cause of tribal welfare.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Governor K Sankaranarayanan were present on the occasion.
