For the last several years, the growth rate of population of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has seen a declining trend. On the other hand, the data on population of other notified Scheduled Tribes (STs) shows an abnormal increase over that of PVTGs, which raises a serious concern on the efficiency of government policies. Despite several policy approaches towards developing the PVTGs right from the fifth Five Year Plan till the current twelfth Five Year Plan, no state government in the country has ever proposed deletion of any group from the list of PVTGs.
This itself indicates a failure of the approach to PVTG development, overseen by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India. The existing policies and laws are only widening the gaps in development between these PVTGs and other Scheduled Tribes.
The ST population of the country as per the 2011 Census, is 104 million spread over 705 communities, constituting 8.6% of the total population. Of them, 75 communities are categorised as PVTGs.
PVTGs are certain groups among STs, identified as such, due to declining or stagnant populations, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, submitted in 2019.
Andhra Pradesh had 23 districts till its bifurcation into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 2014 with nine districts in coastal Andhra region, four in Rayalaseema and 10 in Telangana region. After bifurcation, the 10 districts of the erstwhile Telangana region have been sub-divided into 33 districts.
There are eight major PVTGs in Andhra and Telangana States. They are: Chenchu, Gadaba, Kondh, Kolam, Konda Reddi, Konda Savara, Poroja, and Thoti. The Government of India recognised Chenchus as PVTGs in the year 1975-76; Kolams and Konda Reddis in the year 1980 and Thoti, Khond, Porja, Gadaba and Konda Savara in 1982-1983. The habitats of the PVTGs are located on hill tops and slopes where plain landscape is totally absent. These tribes largely depend on shifting cultivation and minor forest produce collection. The Chenchus are considered to be the most vulnerable, and they are still largely dependent on food gathering activity.
At present, some of the Chenchus are in the transitional stage of food gathering, moving towards food production. The traditional habitats of Chenchus are found in contiguous forest tracts of Nallamala hills. Much of the area of the Nallamala hills, through which Krishna river flows, is presently declared as a Tiger Reserve.
The growth rate of some of the PVTGs in United Andhra Pradesh shows a descending trend. A high decadal growth rate is recorded only during the period 1981-1991. But the growth rate curve has flattened thereafter.
For instance, Konda Reddis were classified as PVTGs in the year 1980 in Andhra Pradesh and their growth rate shows a disturbing trend. Their growth rate was 20.71% during 1961-71, increased between 1971-1981 (27.84%) and notably increased during 1981-1991 (39.69%) after they were notified as PVTGs. However, later on, the growth rate declined to 8.78% during 1991-2001 and 4.31% in 2001-2011.
Similarly, the growth rate of Chenchus was 37.30% during 1961-1971, increased to 43.37% during 1981-1991 and later the curve declined to 3.18% during the period 2001-2011. In the case of Kolams, the growth rate was 59.38% during 1961-1971. While its growth rate remarkably rose to 88.87%, subsequently, it fell to 0.16 % during 2001-2011. Same is the case of Kondhs whose growth rate was 58.02% during the period 1961-1971, increasing significantly to 69.07% during 1981-1991 but declined to 0.19% during the period 2001-2011.
The highest number was the 1.37 lakh Savara community followed by 1.02 Kondhs and 0.90 lakh Konda Reddis respectively. The smallest PVTG is the Porja, who were 0.36 lakhs followed by 0.37 Gadaba, as per the 2011 Census.
The Government of India started identifying Primitive Tribal Groups(PTGs) during the Fifth Five year Plan (1975). Initially 52 PTGs were identified in 1980 in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75. A complete paradigm shift from the earlier path of development took place in 2008 with the decision by MoTA to adopt a development model of ‘Conservation Cum Development (CCD)’ for PVTGs. This was a deviation from the earlier view of development that PVTGs should be developed by bringing them down from the hilltops and gradually reintegrated into society.
The Parliament enacted Recognition of Forest Rights Act (ROFR) in 2006 that aims at primarily correcting the historic injustice done to the tribals and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) by recognising the rights of tribal communities over forest lands. The Act provides for recognising "rights, including community tenures of habitat and habitation for primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities.”
Despite this, the state of Andhra Pradesh is displacing Konda Reddis from their traditional habitat on the river Godavari due to execution of the massive Polavaram irrigation project, at the cost of their survival, identity and cultural heritage. About 9,252 acres of forest land and 10,000 acres of common property resources which are key to the survival of tribals are going to be submerged in the reservoir.
The Chenchus in Telangana’s Mahabubnagar District and Kolams in Adilabad District are also now threatened by the Telangana government with eviction without recognising and settling their rights under the guise of giving importance to the Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) and Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR). The habitat rights of PVTGs ensured under Forest Rights Act have been largely neglected by successive governments in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Another dimension of these PVTGs in both states is that developed tribals from plain areas are infiltrating into Scheduled Areas and exploiting the lands belonging to these PVTGs as there is no prohibition of land transfer among STs under the tribal protective Land Transfer Regulations.
In the light of internal tribal land conflicts between the developed Lambada community and the Chenchus who are categorised as PVTG, the Tribes Advisory Council of Andhra Pradesh had recommended for banning of land transfers between Chenchus to other STs in 2005 to curb land alienations. But successive governments failed to implement this decision.
Particularly the PVTGs which are smaller in number and most vulnerable have tended to get lost in the process of implementing various tribal beneficial schemes, programs, and constitutional privileges. The irony is that these PVTGs are living in resource rich areas, but forced to lead a life of extreme poverty.
The Constitution of India does not define the term STs under Article 342 except stating that they are “such tribes or the tribal communities or parts or groups within such tribes or tribal communities” who are to be notified as Scheduled Tribes, which is a politico-administrative decision. All the notified STs have equal rights and privileges irrespective of economic imbalances or disadvantages of the traditional habitats of these communities. The PVTGs have no separate legal status or privileges except for some concessions within the tribal welfare programmes.
The data on the population of STs further show that there is an increasing trend among the non –PVTGs. The population of the Valmiki (ST) tribe was 546 in 1961 in Andhra Pradesh, but its number increased to 70,513 by 2011. Similarly the population of Bagata was 55,156 in 1961, but its population rose to 1,32,577 by the 2011 Census. The same trend continued in the case of Yanadis, whose population was 22,354 in 1961 which rose to 5,33,746 by 2011. The population of Sugalis which was notified as ST in 1976 rose to 11,58,342 in 1981 abnormally, and its population rose further to 3,61,520 by 2011.
The dominant and developed STs are cornering the benefits of government schemes and Constitutional privileges while marginalising these PVTGs. The approaches of both the central and state Governments are the causative factors for increasing the imbalances between these PVTGs and other STs.
The writer is a lawyer and a tribal rights activist, working for tribals rights for more than three decades. Views expressed are the author’s own.