Bhubaneswar, Feb. 14: Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes today raised fingers at the state government for diverting the funds meant for welfare of the tribal population.

Addressing the media, chairperson of the commission Rameshwar Oraon said the commission, during its visit to the state, found that the funds allocated to the state under the tribal sub-plan had been diverted for other purposes.

“Even the commission has found that a transport building has been constructed in the tribal sub-plan fund. We will recommend the state government to stop the diversion and missutilisation of funds allocated through the tribal sub-plan,” said Oraon.

The commission also pointed out the inability of the state government to create job opportunities for tribal people under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which has led to large number of migration of tribal people of Koraput and Balangir district to other states.

“There is a reduction of around 50 per cent jobs through the scheme in 2011-12 as compared to 2010-11.

As many as 36 per cent of families of the state, belonging to the below poverty line, belong to the tribal population. It indicates the state government’s failure in implementing the poverty alleviation programmes meant for the welfare of the tribes,” he said.

The commission also concluded that large-scale mining activities had taken a toll on the socio-economic conditions of the tribal people. “We found that crops were damaged in largescale at Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts affecting more than 300 tribal cultivators,” said the chairperson.

Similarly, the commission expressed concern over the slow rate of conviction of atrocity cases against the tribal. There were as many as 61 cases of tribal atrocities reported during the year 2011 while conviction has been done only in two cases.

The commission also pitched for setting up an ST Commission in the state to deal with tribal atrocities. “Many other states such as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have an ST Commission though the tribal population in their states is below that the tribal population of Odisha. We will recommend the Union government to set up a commission in Odisha,” said Oraon.

Oram, who is on a nine-day visit to the state from February 7, visited Kalinga Nagar industrial area, Mayurbhanj and Dhenkanal districts to review various welfare programmes meant for tribal welfare.