Ram Dayal Munda

Ranchi, June 4: Rajya Sabha member and executive president of the state Tribal Advisory Council (TAC), Ram Dayal Munda, wants Raj Bhavan to ensure that welfare funds meant for tribals and the rural population are utilised efficiently.

Munda, also a member of the National Advisory Council headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, would like TAC to be a strong body. In fact, the first meeting of the council would discuss ways and means of ensuring TAC’s effectiveness.

“A huge amount of money meant for tribal and general welfare, set aside either by the Centre or the state, lapses every year. This money ought to be spent on the poor. TAC would ask Raj Bhavan to probe and establish which departments were faring poorly when it came to utilising funds and take steps to use the money efficiently,” said Munda, speaking to The Telegraph.

Munda, however, is yet to prepare the detailed agenda of the first meeting of TAC, which he said would take place soon. He said the TAC might take up the issue of MoU signed by various governments to set up industries in the state. He said till date, as many as 101 MoUs had been signed. “If all these get implemented, the state will cease to remain a livable place because of the impact of the industries on the environment and agricultural land. The TAC may, therefore, advise Raj Bhavan to review the MoUs,” he said.

The large-scale irregularities in government departments which have become talking points even outside Jharkhand, the tribal-sadan (original non-tribal settlers) divide and other issues may be taken up for discussion in the first meeting of the council.

Munda said after talking to the state welfare secretary, who happens to be the officiating secretary of TAC, he would soon fix a date for the first meeting of the council.

Former chief minister Shibu Soren, during his five-month tenure, failed to activate the TAC. Soren apart, several other previous chief minister had also taken little interest in activating the body and make it play an important role in administration of tribal and other issues. Most chief ministers, at best, chaired one meeting a year just to keep the concept alive. However, the state, as per norms, needed to refer important issues affecting tribals to the council, whose recommendations were to be executed by the state. That rarely happened.

“The TAC here is very weak. No chief minister really allowed this body to grow as envisaged by the Constitution. We would advise the Raj Bhavan to amend the process and keep the governor as direct supervisor of the council, who will ensure that the body was both functional and effective,” Munda said.

Till now, the meetings and functions of the TAC took place according to the will of the chief minister, who happened to be the president of the council too. The body, in order to exist, should hold at least one meeting every six months.