The Commission has also indicated the possibility of additional areas being declared as scheduled areas; for these, some supplementary resources may be required. The Commission's proposals regarding development programmes, which will be considered carefully, may call for some further resources. The precise additions needed in the provisions for scheduled tribes, the extent to which the further outlays proposed under different heads can be met from the general allotments made for them in the Plan and the respective contributions of the Centre and of individual States will be considered in due course.
PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPMENT 14. As a result of work in the first two Plans and the reviews undertaken by expert committees and others, the general patterns of development in tribal areas are fairly well established. It is of course essential to strengthen the machinery for implementation. It is also necessary from time to time to assess the progress which is realised. Objective evaluation is of great importance because in a field as complex as the welfare of tribal populations, there is frequently a gap between the policies which are enunciated and the manner in which effect is given to them in the field. In the tribal areas, such a gap is not only undesirable in itself but may lead to frustration and may cause serious social and psychological disturbances.
15. In carrying out programmes of development during the Third Plan, there are certain aspects which need to be specially stressed. The principal economic problems of tribal populations centre on lack of continuous employment
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and the prevailing indebtedness. In a real sense these are interconnected problems. Tribal communities depend for their living almost entirely on agriculture and forests. The importance of safeguarding their rights in land and in forests has been stressed already. In some States, notably in Maharashtra. and Gujarat, forests in scheduled areas are to a large extent worked through forest labourers' cooperatives composed oF tribal people. These have on the whole proved satisfactory, but care has to be taken to see that the workers are not exploited either by subordinate officials of Forest Departments or by unscrupulous persons from amongst the tribal people themselves. Invariably, social workers and officials of Tribal Welfare Departments should be associated with the working of these cooperatives. In States in which exploitation of forest resources is still being undertaken mainly through contractors, the existing system should be replaced as early as possible.
16. To a large extent improvement in the economic conditions of scheduled tribes depends upon the success with which levels of agriculture are raised. From this aspect, wherever settled cultivation already exists, there should be the utmost stress on supply of improved seeds, fertilisers and credit, increase of irrigation soil conservation and land reclamation, adoption of better implements and technical guidance. Where shifting cultivation prevails, the transition to settled agriculture is generally likely to be slow and long-drawn. In these areas, the primary aim should be to ensure that shifting cultivation is carried out on a scientific basis so as to limit its disadvantages and promote the fertility of the soil. The problems of changing over from shifting to settled cultivation are now better appreciated than in the past; nevertheless they need to be studied at first hand in each area jointly by agricultural and tribal experts and social workers associated with them before the communities concerned are advised to change the practices which they are accustomed to follow.
17. Among the tribal people there are many factors for favour of development along cooperative lines. However, for cooperation to succeed in raising levels of income and increasing production, it is essential that the problem of past indebtedness should be dealt with in a more basic way than in the past. Some action has been recently taken in the States. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh interest outstanding in January 1957 in favour of any creditor is discharged and only the principal is payable. Interest rates are also regulated. Investigations into the extent of indebtedness among scheduled tribes have been undertaken in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Assam, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh and in the Lahaul and Spiti areas in the Punjab. The problem as a whole needs fresh consideration. The available data might be considered by a special committee with a view to evolving effective measures and policies. These must include, amongst
others, provisions for liquidation and settlement of debts as well as regulation of the terms and conditions for new loans. For the future, the main reliance will necessarily have to be placed on rapid development of cooperative finance and marketing. In this connection the working of schemes like the Andhra Scheduled Tribes Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation should be studied closely with. a view to determining further directions of cooperative development among scheduled tribes. It is important that cooperative organisations should be adapted to the actual requirements of scheduled tribes and the conditions prevailing in different areas and that rules and procedures should be greatly simplified. The Ministry of Home Affairs have recently constituted a working group to consider how scheduled tribes and other backward classes should be assisted to benefit fully from programmes of cooperative development during the Third Plan and to suggest suitable types of cooperative organisation and the changes needed in rules and bye-laws.
18. In tribal areas, as a rule, there is considerable under- employment. It is proposed that in the rural works programmes to be undertaken during the Third Plan, the requirements of employment in tribal areas during the long slack agricultural seasons should be specially kept in view.
19. In the plans of States there are several schemes for the promotion of cottage industries in tribal areas. In the past, cottage industry programmes do not appear to have had a significant impact. This may be due, in part, to the difficulty of selecting the industries to be developed on economic lines, and in part to paucity of personnel and to lack of assured marketing and credit facilities. As suggested by the Committee on Special Multi-purpose Tribal Blocks, it is essential to study closely the arts and crafts which already exist in each area and to consider how these could be developed and also the new crafts which could be introduced on an economically satisfactory basis. In this connection, a further problem may be mentioned. In the tribal areas there is a very large proportion of boys, roughly between the ages of 11 and 14 or 15 years, who have either not gone to school at all or whose education has been discontinued. If facilities for imparting vocational training of even a simple character could be developed in tribal areas, these boys could be equipped for productive work.
20. In recent years, several large projects for the development of irrigation, power and industry have been located in areas inhabited by tribal populations. As an immediate effect of these projects, there has been a considerable measure of dislocation and uprooting. The number of families required to be displaced on account of such projects has frequently run into thousands. Efforts are made to provide compensation in land or cash or both. It is important that the compensation should be
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sufficient for ensuring effective rehabilitation. As far as possible, compensation should take the form of land. The productive value of the land which is given up should be an important factor to be taken into account in determining the scale of allotment. It has been observed that compensation taken in cash is soon squandered and frequently, where compensation has taken the form of land, for a variety of reasons, satisfactory resettlement has not been achieved. For a time unskilled work is available at the site of the project. When the construction phase of the project is completed and the need is for skilled workers, there is little scope for employing displaced tribal workers. In these, circumstances, the damage done to the communities concerned as well as to the individuals is irreparable and becomes, in turn, a source of resentment. With rapid development during the Third and subsequent Plans, this problem is likely to grow in magnitude and should be handled with extreme care. In determining locations of projects, the possibility of avoiding eviction wholly or in part should be fully considered. When no alternative exists, it is suggested that instead of dealing with the problem of eviction and resettlement directly through their own officials or even through the normal revenue administrations, the agency of Tribal Welfare Departments and of voluntary organisations should be utilised. Responsible voluntary organisations, if taken into confidence at an early stage in the project and provided with the necessary resources, can be most helpful in the task of arranging the transfer of the population, resettlement and other rehabilitation measures. They should of course be given a measure of discretion and flexibility in dealing with the problems which arise. It has to be remembered that even though individuals have to be given compensation, in the context of tribal life, they do not and cannot stand alone, and it is no less important to sustain their sense of belonging to a larger community with its own way of life and codes of behaviour and organisation.
21. Tribal welfare programmes affect large numbers of people and the many new developments now under way may produce results which may change fundamentally the character of tribal life and institutions. The resulting problems cannot be, dealt with satisfactorily without cadres of public servants and social workers having intimate knowledge, imbued with sympathy, and trained in carrying out the tasks allotted to them. Short-term assignments in tribal areas given to officials, who are liable to transfer elsewhere are far from satisfactory. To bring the scheduled tribes to the level of the rest of the population calls for sustained efforts for a generation or more on the part of thousands of devoted public servants and social workers, who should be drawn more and more from amongst the tribal people themselves. As a rule, although much has been accomplished during the first two Plans, departments in the States set up for carrying out development programmes among the tribal people are on the whole insufficiently equipped with personnel and do not always enjoy the requisite support for undertaking the extraordinarily difficult tasks falling to them. In these circumstances, having regard to the special responsibilities envisaged in the Constitution, it might be worth considering whether the Central and State Government should now cooperate in forming a special cadre comprising technical and other personnel for work in scheduled areas and in other areas which have concentration of tribal populations. Such a cadre could provide for personnel above the field level. As a rule, those belonging to the cadre could work within their own States but, at the higher levels of responsibility, they could also be available for work elsewhere. The most significant aspect, of course, is that a body of trained persons would spend their entire period of service among the tribal people, so that their knowledge, experience and sense of identification would become a vital factor in assuring rapid and uninterrupted development. Along with measures taken to strengthen the public service, it is also essential that as a matter of public policy strong voluntary organisations should be built up for work among the tribal people.
III
SCHEDULED CASTES 22. As distinguished from scheduled tribes, scheduled castes are widely dispersed and, while they form part of the general community, the social disabilities from which they suffer and their economic weakness place them in a special category. The Constitution abolished 'untouchability' and forbade its practice in any form, and the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, made the offence of 'untouchability' cognisable and punishable uniformly throughout the country. While they have social problems which are peculiar to them, the economic problems of scheduled castes are in the main common with those of other weaker sections of the community. The Third Plan provides about Rs. 40 crores for special programmes relating to sche- duled castes as compared with outlays of about Rs. 28 crores in the Second Plan and nearly Rs. 7 crores in the First Plan. About Rs. 30 crores have been provided for scheduled castes in the plans of States. About one-half of this amount is for education schemes and the balance is divided almost equally between (a) schemes for economic uplift and (b) health, housing and other schemes. These provisions are intended to supplement benefits which should be available in an increasing measure to scheduled castes from the general development programmes provided for in the Plan, especially since the Plan places special emphasis on ensuring that the weaker sections of the community obtain their due share of the benefits in each programme. The community development programme,the rural works programme, schemes for land resettlement, the programme for village
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and small industries and other schemes undertaken in the interest of agricultural labourers have the greatest significance for raising the living standard of scheduled castes and other weaker sections of the community.
23. During the First two Plans, the major stress in carrying out development programmes for scheduled castes has been on education. Thus, as compared to 600,000 scholarships awarded to scheduled caste students in 1956-57, the number in receipt of scholarships at the end of the Second Plan is about 900,000. At the post-matriculation stage, the number of scholarship-holders from among the scheduled castes has risen from less than 1100 at the beginning of the First Plan to about 40,000 at the close of the Second Plan.
24. As explained already, programmes for scheduled castes included in the Third Plan are intended to provide for certain special schems; they do not in any sense take the place of development programmes undertaken for the community as a whole. In the field of education. the main aims are to make available special scholarships based to the extent feasible, on suitable merit-cum-means tests, provision of residential facilities at educational institutions as a rule in mixed hostels, exemption from fees, and financial assistance for needy students. For promoting economic uplift, stress is laid on allotment of land and assistance for settling as cultivators , training in village and small industries and introduction of improved techniques in the traditional crafts. While the bulk of the special allocations are made in the plans of States, the, Ministry of Home Affairs provide for the following Centrally sponsored schemes
(1) improvement of the working conditions of persons engaged in unclean occupations including eradication of the practice of carrying night soil as head loads;
(2) subsidies for housing for sweepers and scavengers;
(3) provision of house sites for members of scheduled castes (a) who are engaged in unclean occupations, and (b) who are landless labourers;
(4) award of post-matric scholarships; and
(5) aid to voluntary organisations.
Under the general housing programmes, funds are earmarked for acquisition and development of lands for granting house sites to agricultural workers amongst whom members of scheduled castes form a considerable proportion.
25. Since members of scheduled castes generally live in small groups intermixed with the rest of the population, their welfare and progress are bound up to a large extent with those of the community as a whole. Improvement in their living conditions and levels of income constitutes one of the major tests of economic and social progress in the country. Since 1947 legislation has been enacted for dealing with the social disabilities of the scheduled castes and, progressively, with the support of public opinion, arrangements for enforcing the laws are being strengthened. Such social disabilities as remain are in considerable degree due to economic backwardness. Economic development programmes have, therefore, special urgency. In the measure in which, as envisaged in the Third Plan, the benefits of various development programmes can be carried effectively to the weaker sections of the community, scheduled castes will gain from these programmes.
26. While assistance in education is given high priority in programmes for the welfare of backward classes and regulations for recruitment to the public services provide for reservation of posts, it is observed that frequently the prescribed proportions are not being reached. At the same time, in some areas, persons belonging to backward classes who have received some measure of education may be found among the unemployed. This is specially the case with persons whose education fits them only for clerical and like positions. It is, therefore, necessary to place much greater emphasis on technical and vocational training. As proposed in the Chapter on Education, it is also necessary that schemes for scholarships and other assistance in education should be, so devised that promising students are effectively able to complete their studies and reach the stage at which they are eligible for permanent employment. it would be desirable to select young persons from amongst scheduled castes and from backward classes in general at an early enough stage and to help them continuously through the entire educational career, with assurance, wherever possible of employment at the end.
27. Voluntary organisations are given assistance for educating the public regarding the removal of untouchability. Assistance for this purpose will be extended to them on a large scale in the Third Plan. It is important that voluntary organisations should go beyond work relating to publicity and propaganda and should actually establish or bell) to set up institutions such as schools. hospitals, housing cooperatives, industrial centres, etc.. and should assist in running them. Such centres will provide an effective base for the work of voluntary organisations and will be of the greatest value in the economic rehabilitation of scheduled castes and other sections of the population.
Annual reports of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes indicate the progress made in dealing with the problem of scheduled castes A general evaluation was also attempted by the Study Team on Social Welfare constituted by the Committee an Plan Projects. Specific problems have been studied by special committees or groups as, for instance, the recent report of the committee appointed by the Central Advisory Boards on Harijan Welfare to
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consider conditions of scavengers. There is need for fuller and more frequent evaluation of the impact of development programmes on the conditions of scheduled castes, so that, in the light of experience, new methods may be adopted and the existing arrangements strengthened.
IV