Social auditing of tribal schemes soon

A social audit of over 50 multi-crore tribal welfare projects initiated in recent years in Attappady by the Central and State governments will be conducted by the Palakkad District Legal Services Authority next week, as ordered by the Kerala High Court.

The projects being audited include the ₹12-crore Kurumba tribal development project from which ₹11 crore was diverted for the construction of a road between Chindakki and Anawai. The project was meant for improving the living standards of the most-primitive Kurumba tribe, numbering hardly 2,250 and living in the deep interiors of the forests in Pudur grama panchayat.

Community kitchen

According to legal services authority sources, a ₹28-crore community kitchen project and a ₹6.75-crore millet village scheme are two other initiatives that will come under the scanner.

The Kerala State SC/ST Commission has been opposing the operation of the community kitchens, which promised nutritious meals to pregnant and lactating women, saying that they have failed to meet the objective. The much-hyped millet village scheme suffered huge losses on the first year of implementation because of unscientific farming methods. Seeds sowed in 176.82 hectares failed to sprout due to severe drought, claim officials.

Various housing and health initiatives implemented in the past one decade will also come under scrutiny.

The district judge will oversee the audit in which government’s own audit experts and retired auditors will take part along with those from the legal services authority. Deepak Menon, amicus curie deputed by the High Court to look into the state of affairs in Attappady, too will be part of the process.

Allegations of tribal organisations that tribal sub-plan funds and additional sub-plan funds to the tune of crores of rupees have been diverted will be checked.

Monitoring mechanism

Based on the audit, the court will decide on the demand to set up a permanent monitoring mechanism for tribal welfare initiatives in Attappady.

The court ordered the audit while proceeding on a case initiated on the basis of a letter given by a judge in the wake of lynching of 27-year-old tribal youth Madhu at Attappady in February.

The audit is likely to be a reality check on tribal empowerment in the largest aborigine collective in the State.