Raipur, March 11, 2025/ The first meeting of the Chhattisgarh Tribal Advisory Council after its reconstitution was held today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai in the committee room located in the Vidhan Sabha complex. Important issues related to the empowerment, education, socio-economic upliftment, administrative reforms and cultural preservation of the tribal community were discussed in the meeting.
Cabinet Minister and Vice President of Tribal Advisory Council Shri Ramvichar Netam, along with senior ministers, MLAs, administrative officers and all members of the council were present in the meeting.
Welcoming all the members in the first meeting of the council, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai said that the tribal community constitutes 32% of the population in Chhattisgarh, and their overall development is the priority of our state. This council is not just a platform for discussion, but an important constitutional unit for policy-making and decision-implementation. He directed for quick action on all the valuable suggestions made in the meeting and asked the officers to conduct a detailed study to resolve the errors related to caste certificates of the tribal community. Arrangements should be made to include Sarna sites along with Devgudi for the protection and development of tribal places of faith. To improve education, the problem of teacherless and single-teacher schools in tribal areas should be resolved quickly. Effective implementation of economic empowerment schemes for the tribal community should be done, which will increase their per capita income.
Cabinet Minister Shri Ramvichar Netam said that the Chhattisgarh Tribal Advisory Council acts as a strong bridge between the government and the tribal society. All of us members represent one-third of the state’s population, so it is our responsibility to effectively deliver the government’s schemes to the community. He assured that the decisions taken by the council would be effectively included in policy-making.
In the meeting, all the members present gave concrete suggestions regarding education, livelihood, socio-economic development and administrative reforms of the tribal community. Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai directed for quick and effective implementation of all the proposals and asked the officers to ensure that the real benefits of policy reforms reach the tribal community. This meeting will prove to be an important milestone in the direction of development and self-reliance of the tribal society.
In the meeting, the members of the council presented their suggestions on several important issues related to the socio-economic development of the tribal community, including increasing the number and facilities of hostels for tribal girls, encouraging local employment and recruitment process in tribal-dominated areas, better availability of health services and expansion of medical facilities in tribal areas, implementing special schemes to empower the traditional livelihood of tribals, and implementing special schemes for the conservation and promotion of tribal art, culture and traditions.
In the meeting, Principal Secretary of Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Department Shri Sonmani Bora gave a presentation on various agenda points and presented detailed information to the council. On this occasion, Forest Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap, MLAs Ms. Lata Usendi, Ms. Shakuntala Singh Porte, Ms. Uddeshwari Paikra, Ms. Raimuni Bhagat, Ms. Gomti Sai, MLA Shri Ramkumar Toppo, Shri Pranav Kumar Marpachi, Shri Vikram Usendi, Shri Asharam Netam, Shri Neelkant Tekam, Shri Vinayak Goyal, Shri Chaitram Atami, including nominated members Shri Raghuraj Singh Uike and Shri Krishna Kumar Vaishnav were present. Senior administrative officers were present in the meeting, including Chief Secretary Shri Amitabh Jain, Director General of Police Shri Arun Dev Gautam, Additional Chief Secretary Shri Manoj Kumar Pingua, Ms. Richa Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Shri Subodh Singh, Principal Secretary of Panchayat Department Ms. Niharika Barik Singh, Secretary of Health Department Shri Amit Kataria, Secretary Shri Rajesh Sukumar Toppo, Secretary of School Education Department Shri Siddharth Komal Pardeshi, Commissioner Shri Padum Singh Elma and other officers.