Current Affairs

MANKIDIA COMMUNITY

TAG: GS-2: GOVERNMENT POLICIES & INTERVENTIONS

CONTEXT: The Mankidia community in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district recently became the sixth Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) to receive habitat rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

EXPLANATION:

Table of Contents

What is Mankidia community?

Mankidia is a nomadic tribal group who live in Odisha.
They are categorised as a particularly vulnerable tribal group. The group is an offshoot of the Birhor tribe of the Chota Nagpur region.
The name ‘Mankidia’ is from the Odia term ‘Mankada’- a reference to their specialization in catching monkeys. Collecting wild honey and siali fibre from the Similipal forest is their source of livelihood. The recent forest fires have threatened their livelihoods.
The 2011 census reported a population of 2,222 members in the tribe.

Issue:

The Mankidia tribal people make a livelihood in the Simlipal Tiger Reserve region by collecting siali fibre. This region is, however, the core area of the tiger reserve.
The tribe was given habitat rights at the level of District Level Committee in August 2016. But the forest department of the state has been unwilling to give the land away and hence the land titles haven’t been granted to the tribe.
Habitat’ under Section 2(h) of the FRA (Forest Rights Act) is defined as area comprising customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes.

About the PVTGs:

PVTGs are identified based on criteria such as technological backwardness, stagnant or declining population growth, low literacy levels, subsistence economy, and challenging living conditions.
They face vulnerability in health, education, nutrition, and livelihood.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has identified 75 PVGTs in 18 states and one Union Territory.
In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.

Government Efforts for the Welfare of the PVTGs:

The Union Budget 2023-24 announced the launch of the PM PVTG Development Mission.
- This will saturate PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, etc.
- An amount of Rs.15,000 crore will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).
The PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) has been launched to enhance the socio-economic conditions of PVTGs.
- The Union Cabinet during November 2023 approved PM JANMAN with total outlay of Rs.24,104 crore (Central Share: Rs.15,336 crore and State Share: Rs.8,768 crore) to be implemented during FY 2023-24 to 2025-26.
- The PM-JANMAN (comprising Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes) to focus on 11 critical interventions through 9 Ministries.
The government has been consistently following up with respective State governments over the declining populations of several PVTG communities across the country.