In a first, PVTGs in Palamu's Nawadih eye stone mining lease

Time of India

2 days ago

Daltonganj: In an encouraging move, community members of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG ) under the panchayat samiti of Nawadih, Ramgarh block, in Palamu district, are now keen to shed off their primitiveness.
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They are now seeking a land lease for mining stone.
The PVTG is generally seen as submissive and resigned to the fate of suffering without taking benefits of govt schemes. However, at Nawadih, the PVTG wants a land lease for stone quarrying, a venture no one ever thought would come from the members of the community.
On Monday, DC Sameera S, DDC Md Jawed Hussain, additional collector Kundan Kumar, and a host of other officers reached Uldanda and Nawadih to launch a pilot project named Unnat Doorasth Adivasi Yojna (UDAY), an offshoot of the PM Jan Jatiya Nayaya Maha Abhiyan.
During this, a PVTG woman of the panchayat samiti, asked for a lease of land for quarrying stone.
Talking to TOI on Tuesday, additional collector Kumar said, "The demand for a stone mining lease coming from a panchayat samiti woman member belonging to the PVTG surprised us. It made us feel that the PVTG, known for its self-seclusion and isolation from the mainstream, is now wanting to do something new."
The PVTG woman even hinted at a chunk of land for stone quarrying near a mission school, Kumar added.
However, there was also some resistance from the locals to leasing the land near a school, citing possible environment hazard.
On the other hand, PVTGs in Uldanda panchayat were content with whatever they had, remarked a govt functionary.
On the UDAY scheme, DDC M Jawed Hussain said, "The DC has taken this initiative to provide the PVTG with certificates and documents to ensure that they are eligible for any govt scheme or benefit."
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According to other officials, birth certificates were more in demand from the PVTG families, as 45 certificates were delivered at the Uldanda panchayat and 58 certificates in the Nawadih panchayat. Other certificates for caste, income and residential proof among others were also issued on the spot.
There are 31 hamlets of PVTG communities in Ramgarh block with a total population of over 1,300 people.