UNC writes to Union Minister of Tribal Affairs
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Imphal, November 02 2023:
The United Naga Council (UNC) has written to Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, to ignore the proposal submitted by the Vice Chairman of Manipur Khadi & Village Industries Board, Lamphel to split the allocated funds meant for the tribals to valley based NGOs.
The memorandum was submitted by UNC yesterday.
In the letter, which was made available to Newmai News Network tonight, the UNC said that the Vice Chairman of Manipur Khadi & Village Industries Board submitted six proposals to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in May this year.
The UNC letter to the Union Minister also said that the office of the Manipur Khadi and Village Industries Board has its own Ministry and hence submitting proposals to the Tribal Affairs Ministry without mentioning the targeted beneficiaries and locations/areas for implementation is "ultra vires and a ploy to siphon off the fund allocated for the tribals of Manipur" .
The Naga body also said the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, has identified priority districts for Manipur viz, Tamenglong with 95.72 per cent of ST population, Ukhrul with 94.35 per cent, Churachandpur with 92.94 per cent, Chandel with 88.97 per cent and Senapati with 87.49 per cent and therefore, allocation of funds under proviso to Article 275(1) is solely for the purpose of promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in the State.
"As such, breaking up/splitting the allocated funds meant for the tribals to valley based NGOs will certainly destabilize the Tribal Affairs in its execution of work programmes and yield negative impact while addressing the need of plugging critical gaps," the UNC asserted.
"In the light of the above reasons, your good self is requested kindly to ignore the project proposals in the larger interest of the tribals of Manipur," the United Naga Council further said.