Union Minister Arjun Munda lauds Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for Van Dhan Vikas programme

After Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that 400 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra will be set up in the state, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda called it a game-changer move.

Munda reviewed the implementation of tribal development programmes in Assam and lauded the efforts put forth for promoting tribal livelihoods. A typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra includes 20 tribal members and 15 such Van Dhan Vikas Kendras form one Kendra cluster.

Praising the focus on livelihood creation for the tribal population, Arjun Munda said the programme can better the lives of the tribal citizens of Assam. The tribal affairs minister who is on a two-day visit to Assam, met Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Sunday, at the state guest house in Guwahati. During the meeting, the union minister assessed the situation of the state's tribal population.

According to a release by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Munda and the Assam chief minister discussed the implementation status of tribal development programmes (Minor Forest Produce (MFP), Van Dhan Self Help Group (VDSHGs) and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFOOD) projects in the state. The ministers also discussed the progress of programmes like Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce (MSP for MFP), Van Dhan Yojana, and ESDP training for tribals.

Assam: 400 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra to be set up

The Assam chief minister said that the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra clusters will provide economies of scale, livelihood and market linkages as well as entrepreneurship opportunities. Taking to his official Twitter account, Sarma said that these clusters will promote tribal art and craft and will help provide livelihood impetus to Assam’s tribal population.    

Besides this, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has awarded the Van Dhan National Award 2021-22 to TRISSAM of Assam in the category of Collaborative Initiative for co-branding in Van Dhan Yojana, which was formally presented by the Union minister to the chief minister at the meeting.

Earlier in August, Sarma had also met a TRIFED team to chalk out plans for expanding tribal development in the state and defining the steps for the way forward. “There should be a development programme through which the entire Northeast region can progress. It has to be in a way that the entire region can be presented as a development model. The gateway to Northeast is Assam and this is a very important state,” Munda had said, adding that his Ministry is trying to add value to the existing traditional system and lifestyle of the tribal people and taking the artisans and their work to the national and global levels.

Assam has a substantial tribal population, with 3,308,570 forest dwellers constituting 12.4% of the total population of the state. Initiatives such as the Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the development of value chain for MFP has been helping the community in the state for the past two years. Under the newly announced Van Dhan Scheme, a total of 1,920 VD SHG have been sanctioned, which will directly benefit 37,786 forest tribal gatherers. According to the official release, a total of Rs 19.20 crore have been sanctioned for the programme.  

(Image: Himanta Biswa Sarma/Twitter)