Kolkata, Oct 23 — West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday announced a Rs 342 crore special package for the tribal-dominated Jhargram district in the western sector in the state.
He made this announcement while addressing a programme at Kalajhariya, a community development block in Jhargram district where the population is dominated by the people from two tribal backgrounds namely by Lodhas and Shabars.
Under this special package, the state government will provide daily kits of nutritious foodgrains to each of these tribal families in the region.
"These special foodgrain kits will have rice, pulses, oil, and soybeans. This will be an additional service beyond the regulation PFS service. As a result, 25,000 tribal families in Jhargram will be benefitted. This service will also be provided to tribal families in Jhargram adjacent to West Bengal's Midnapore district also, where 45,000 tribal families will be benefitted," the Chief Minister said.
Chief Minister Adhikari also announced that two lakh students of Jhargram will be given Scheduled Tribe (ST) scholarships of Rs 800 each a month.
The Chief Minister also launched a scathing attack against the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government for allegedly neglecting the people coming from the tribal community in the state.
"The previous state (Trinamool Congress) government did not get involved in any development project of the Union government. The development of the people from the tribal community remained neglected during the previous government. But our (Bharatiya Janata Party) government will not deprive them. The Adivasi Mahila Samridhi Yojana will be launched soon. I guarantee you 125 days of work. If you want to get a job card, you can get a new one. Around 2,72,903 women in Jhargram district are getting money from the Annapurna Yojana currently," he said.
In the Assembly polls earlier this year which marked a landslide defeat for the Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s performance in the tribal dominated Assembly constituencies was extraordinary, with the party candidates winning from all such seats.
After taking oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari announced that the development in the livelihoods of the tribal people will be one of his top priorities.