Expert team to be set up in Andaman to uplift PVTG

A central team of experts will be set up soon for extensive research of tribal communities for better communication to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups PVTG in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Union Tribal Minister Arjun Munda said.

A central team of experts will be set up soon for extensive research of tribal communities for better communication to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Union Tribal Minister Arjun Munda said. The team will be set up under Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission and will find out what approach should be adopted while venturing into territories inhabited by the tribal groups without disturbing their sanctity, he told PTI here.

He said that language and communication with the tribal people has become a major hurdle in the effective implementation of any central welfare projects in the Bay Islands.

''Therefore, we have decided to form a team of communication experts who will learn the language of Jarawa, Onge, Shompen, Nicobari and Great Andamanese tribes so that it will be easier for us to make Pradhan Mantri Development Mission a success in this archipelago.

''A careful look out will be maintained to observe how they respond to our approach under the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission,'' he said. The union minister said that he has asked senior officials of the anthropological department to make the requisite plans and submit a report soon. ''This mission mode task will be completed within three years." On the inclusion of the reclusive Sentinelese tribe in the mission, he said it is yet to be decided as the tribesmen are strictly against outsiders venturing into their territory.

The Sentinelese, who inhabit the North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, are considered the most isolated tribe in the world and attack anyone who enter their territory which is spread across 14,700 acres. They are among the last to remain untouched by the modern ways.

They are thought to be directly descendants of the first human populations to emerge from Africa, and have probably lived in the Andaman Islands for thousands of years. The Sentinelese are in the list of scheduled tribes of the country.

The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission was announced in the union budget in 2023-24. A fund of Rs 15,000 crore was allocated for the socio-economic development of the tribals across India, including in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for the next three years.

Munda arrived here in Port Blair on Thursday and met various tribal groups to ensure that all central welfare schemes reach the PVTGs.

He visited Dugong Creek in Little Andaman and met Onge tribe. He also distributed vegetable seeds and fishing gear to them. He also visited Campbell Bay and interacted with the representatives of Shompen and Nicobari tribes.

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