Tribal hostels: HC raps state on maintenance

The High Court has directed that the state government ensure that allowances are released regularly and punctually every month. “Arrears of allowances payable shall be cleared within a period of every one month,” stated the order.

The petition clearly stated that there was a violation of rules issued on November 11, 2011 which clearly directs that in all the government hostels under the tribal development department of the state government, amenities and facilities should be provided. In the schedule, there is a provision for payment of maintenance allowance and an additional allowance of Rs 100 per month to girls for cleanliness. However, the petition said that the allowances were not being given.

The PIL had argued that maintenance in most of the 460-odd hostels was almost non-existent, while students were not being served hygienic food and were bereft of the books. During the last hearing on December 2, a two-judge bench of the high court had expressed a strong reservation on whether food was being provided to tribal students in the hostels.

The bench observed in the affidavit filed by the state government that the maintenance allowance of the hostels had not been paid after January 2013. “We are happy that the High Court has finally taken cognisance of the state government’s apathy regarding this issue. In our PIL, we highlighted the discrepancies in the implementation of the 2011 rules and clear violation of tribal rights,” said NRCO secretary Ravindra Talpe. The NRCO, in its PIL, also requested the court to direct the government to take action against errant officials who did not implement rules.