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First announced in the 2023-24 Budget, the PM Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) Development Mission is finally on its way with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching it on the occasion of ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (tribal pride day)’, in Jharkhand on Wednesday.
The programme, which rolls out amidst an ongoing election season and with the 2024 Battle up ahead – and is timed with the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda, plus being launched from his birth place – aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of PVTGs. A government statement says, the Mission’s goal is to “(saturate) PVTG families and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities”.
Specifically, under the umbrella scheme, nine ministries will implement 11 interventions, including the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, and Jal Jeevan Mission, among others.
In terms of outlay, the PVTG programme is one of the largest Central schemes, and the largest targeting the tribal community. The initial allocation for the programme was Rs 15,000 crore.
In comparison, among other flagship schemes, the 2023-24 Budget allocated Rs 60,000 crore for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Rs 70,000 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission and Rs 79,590 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.
The government also has umbrella programmes for the development of minorities, vulnerable groups, Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs), for which it allocated Rs 610 crore, Rs 2,194 crore, Rs 4,295 crore, and Rs 9,409 crore, respectively, in the 2023-24 Budget.
According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, India has 75 PVTGs, who are characterised by “pre-agriculture level of technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and subsistence level of economy”.
PVTGs were recognised as a separate category based on the findings of the 1961 Dhebar Commission. In 1975, there were 52 PVTGs and, by 1993, the list had been expanded to 75 out of 705 Scheduled Tribes (STs) across 18 states and Union Territories.
Data from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the 2011 Census shows that Odisha has the largest population of PVTGs at 8.66 lakh, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 6.09 lakh and Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana) at 5.39 lakh. The total PVTG population is more than 40 lakh and the largest PVTG is Odisha’s Saura community, numbering 5.35 lakh.
Of the five states voting in Assembly polls this month, four – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana (data available is combined with Andhra Pradesh) – all have PVTG populations.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Baiga and the Bharias are the largest groups, with populations of 4.14 lakh and 1.93 lakh, respectively. Baigas, the second most populous PVTG in India, are scattered across the forests of MP and Chhattisgarh (where their population is 89,744), and rely largely on shifting cultivation, forest produce and fishing for sustenance.
In the lead-up to Assembly elections, the Congress government in Chhattisgarh granted habitat rights to the Baigas, which recognises the community’s rights to their customary territory of habitation, socio-cultural practices, economic and livelihood means, intellectual knowledge of biodiversity and ecology, traditional knowledge of use of natural resources, as well as protection and conservation of their natural and cultural heritage. In August, the state government granted similar rights to the Kamar tribe, whose population is 26,530. In total, Chhattisgarh has 1.16 lakh PVTGs.
In Rajasthan, there are 1.11 lakh PVTGs, all belonging to the Saharia community, who are also present in Madhya Pradesh. Their livelihoods depend largely on agriculture, daily wage labour, and selling of minor forest products like honey, tendu leaf, mahua, and medicinal plants.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the largest PVTGs groups are the Kondasavaras (1.39 lakh) and Kondareddis (1.08 lakh). While Kondasavaras largely live in the hills and rely on forest produce, the Kondareddis practice settled agriculture and horticulture and speak Telugu.
The BJP has launched several tribal outreach efforts – from choosing Droupadi Murmu as the first tribal woman President to honouring local icons in tribal-dominated regions. For instance, in Madhya Pradesh, Modi had laid the foundation stone of the ‘Veerangana Rani Durgavati Smarak aur Udyaan’ in Jabalpur earlier this year on her 100th birth anniversary. Rani Durgavati was queen regent of Gondwana in the 16th century and remembered for defending Gondwana against the Mughal empire. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda have also been frequently visiting tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively, since last year.
In Telangana, the BJP state chief G Kishan Reddy has said his party will implement 10% reservations to tribal communities if voted to power.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, of the 47 ST seats, the BJP had won 31, spread across Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal. The Congress won just four and regional parties won nine.
Among the states going to polls this month, Madhya Pradesh has the most ST seats, at 47. Between the 2013 and 2018 polls, the BJP’s ST seat tally almost halved from 31 to 16, with the Congress picking up an additional 15 seats to win a total of 30 ST seats.
In Chhattisgarh, which has 29 ST seats, the BJP failed to make a mark in either the 2013 or the 2018 polls, winning 11 and three seats, respectively. The Congress won 18 and 25 in the 2013 and 2018 polls, respectively.
In Rajasthan’s 25 ST seats, the BJP’s tally fell from 18 in 2013 to nine in 2018, while the Congress managed four and 12, respectively.
In each of these three states, the BJP’s relatively weak 2018 performances in the ST seats could have prompted this push to woo tribal voters with the PVTG Development Mission.
Telangana has 12 ST seats, but BJP remains a minor player in the state, winning just one seat overall and no ST seats in 2018. The Congress and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi won 5 ST seats each.
Mizoram is somewhat of an outlier – 39 of its 40 Assembly seats are reserved for STs. In this state, too, the BJP has yet to make a significant impact, winning just one seat in 2018.
