Chennai: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) chairperson Antar Singh Arya cut short a review meeting on issues concerning Scheduled Tribes after chief secretary C Sai Kumar and secretaries of the forest, revenue and health departments failed to turn up in Chennai on Tuesday. Later that day, the CS and other secretaries met Arya and the NCST members at Lok Bhavan and briefed them on the issues.Officials said a 12-member NCST delegation led by Arya attended the morning meeting, which began at the Government Guest House at 11am. The meeting ended within 20 minutes after the delegation expressed displeasure over the absence of the chief secretary and senior officials of key departments dealing with tribal issues, said a source.A member of the delegation said Tuesday’s meeting was intended to flag issues faced by tribals and work out a course of action. Secretary of the Social Justice Department N Subbaiyan, along with the secretaries of the School Education and Higher Education Departments and principal chief conservator of forest of TN represented the TN govt at the meeting.Arya asked govt representatives present at the venue to introduce themselves. On being informed that the CS and secretaries of the forest, health and revenue departments had not turned up, Arya, along with NCST members Asha Lakra and Jatothu Hussain, left the meeting.Before leaving, one of the members remarked that although tribals constitute only about 1% of the state’s population, govt should not adopt such an approach towards them, said a source privy to the meeting. “The chairperson of NCST was upset with the TN govt,” said a person accompanying the chairperson.A senior bureaucrat attributed the absence of CS and other secretaries to an overlap with an emergency meeting convened by chief minister C Joseph Vijay to review the state’s preparedness for the northeast monsoon.When the CS met the chairperson of NCST later in the day, the issues were discussed in detail. “He asked us to expedite the distribution of pattas under the FRA and housing assistance under the PM-JANMAN scheme for tribals in the state,” the official said.Tuesday’s meeting was part of NCST’s two-day programme. On Monday, the delegation met tribal representatives from across the state, including Vellore, Tirupattur, the Nilgiris, Krishnagiri, Theni and southern districts. Most of them flagged land-related issues, implementation of Forest Rights Act (FRA) and conflicts with the forest department.
