Pradhan slams BJD Govt for neglecting tribals

BHUBANESWAR: A day after being targeted by the ruling BJD over Ujjwala Yojana, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan hit out at the State Government for neglecting the tribal population of Odisha.

Even as tribals constitute 23 per cent of the State’s population, the performance of the Government in health, education, nutrition, communication and women’s development in tribal-dominated districts is far behind the national average, he said. Taking to social media, Pradhan said around 57 per cent of tribal children under the age of five are suffering from chronic malnourishment while infant mortality among tribal communities in the State is higher than the national average.

Alleging that majority of the tribal people are still facing serious health issues due to lack of hospitals, Pradhan said 45 per cent of tribal children are underweight with malnourished. Slamming the State Government for its failure to provide basic amenities to people in tribal areas, the Union Minister said institutional delivery is abysmally low despite several institutional interventions.

“Despite 40 per cent population of Odisha being SC & ST, the secretary post of the department is lying vacant for more than a month,” he tweeted. Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for not convening the tribal advisory council (TAC) meeting, Pradhan said the council met in June after a gap of three years.