‘Tribal land rights a priority for HP govt’

Shimla: CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday that the approval of “nautod” (land rights) for tribal residents was a priority of his govt and the proposal had already been sent to the governor after receiving a cabinet approval and it was expected to be cleared soon.
He said in a step to promote tourism, the govt was planning to develop ‘Buddhist Tourism Circuit’ and heliports in tribal areas which would boost local employment and self-employment opportunities for the residents. Sukhu presided over the 49th meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Tribal Advisory Council on Monday. He said that the present state govt had made provisions of Rs 890 crore under the tribal sub plan and tribal area development programme for the financial year 2024-25, with an additional Rs 1,145 crore allocated in non-plan expenditure.
The planned budget included Rs 117 crore for construction of buildings, roads and bridges. Apart from this, Rs 37 crore for education services, Rs 52 crore for healthcare and Rs 75 crore for drinking water schemes was also planned. The state govt is establishing Tribal Bhawans in Rampur, Chamba and Nurpur and the construction of these buildings would be completed soon, he added.
Tribal development minister Jagat Singh Negi claimed that only one tribal advisory council meeting was held during the five-year tenure of the previous BJP govt, whereas two meetings had been convened in the past two years under Congress.