Rs 6.70 crore sanctioned for unwed tribal moms

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of the 100-day action programme of the UDF Government, Rs 6.70 crore was sanctioned for the welfare of 935 unwed tribal mothers in the state, Youth Affairs and ST Welfare Minister P K Jayalakshmi said. Addressing a news conference here on Friday, she said that the government was preparing the statistics of the landless and homeless among them. A short-stay home for the unwed tribal mothers and a knowledge centre for their children were opened in Kasargod. The pension for unwed mothers was increased from Rs 300 to Rs 1,000. So far, 54 unwed mothers were provided the enhanced pension. Steps have been taken to expedite the pension distribution. Eighth standard students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes were given Rs 3,000 each to buy cycles. Out of the 2,571 houses being constructed for the tribals, 270 were completed during the period. Rs 2.90 crore was sanctioned for this. She said that the joint family system among tribals had created certain problems for the issuance of ration cards. According to her, 15,042 tribals do not have ration cards. Of this, 1,854 were given cards during 100 days of the UDF Government. She said that initial steps were taken to implement a comprehensive development project using the Rs 148 crore sanctioned by the 13th Finance Commission for primitive tribes. The project will be completed in four years. Referring to the activities of the Museum Department, she said that digitalisation of the library was completed. A catalogue of 500 digitalised books was released on August 31. The renovated museum in Thrissur was opened on September 6.The Youth Welfare Department held a camp for the Youth Action Force members from the southern districts. A seminar was also held for young media persons in Ernakulam on August 25 and 26. Jobfest, aimed at providing a platform for corporates and job seekers, was held in the first week of September. 14 companies participated in the fest and offered jobs to 621 youths.Jayalakshmi said that her achievements were the result of gaining confidence of her colleagues and cooperation and support from the public.