East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy on Sunday promised all support to the tribals and encouraged them to make best use of the 40,000 acres of land to be distributed among the 14,000 tribal families in the Rampa and Chintoor Agencies.

Addressing the gathering of tribal elders and women during the celebration of the World Tribal Day here, Mr. Muralidhar Reddy said that all was set to distribute the land to the forest dwellers on October 2.

The tribal families would be offered every support from the district authorities, he said, encouraging them to take up horticulture, agriculture and micro-irrigation practices on the land given to them.

Assistance through NREGA

The assistance would also be extended through the NREGA to improve their livelihood in the Rampa and Chintoor tribal pockets, said the Collector.

Felicitating the elders of various tribes inhabiting in the East Godavari Agency, Mr. Muralidhar said that the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) at Rampachodavaram and Chintoor would strive for improving the quality of life of the seven tribes in the district and protecting their age-old traditions and culture.

The Collector said that the tribals would get access to various government documents at the panchayat level through the secretariat system.

ITDA Rampachodavaram in-charge project officer Praveen Adithya has promised to develop marketing chain for better price for the forest produce being collected by the tribes.