Ranchi University

Ranchi, March 22: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has assigned a research project to Ranchi University (RU) to find out the changes post-Independence welfare projects have ushered in in the socio-economic-cultural life of Jharkhand’s tribal populace.

To be carried out by a teacher of RU’s sociology department, Prabhat Kumar Singh, the study will be conducted in four blocks of Chotanagpur region — Khunti block of Khunti district, Mandar block of Ranchi district, Ghaghra and Bishunpur blocks of Gumla district.

Titled Evaluation Study of Tribal Welfare Projects, the project will focus on major welfare projects introduced by the central and state governments for tribals after 1947.

“This study is a first-of-its-kind project entrusted to the sociology department of RU by the UGC. The purpose is to know what impact the welfare projects had on the lives of the tribal people of the region,” Singh said.

The UGC has allotted Rs 5.21 lakh for the project. Singh has already begun work from February. “I plan to complete the majority of work in summer vacation and expect to submit the report to the UGC by January 2012,” he added.

For the 2010-11 fiscal, the Jharkhand government has set aside Rs 116.93 crore for the welfare of tribals. The projects focus on livelihood promotion, education and other development aspects. This apart, the Centre also allocates a huge sum of money every year for spending on education and livelihood projects.