Survey of Socio Economic Conditions of the Scheduled Tribe Population Living Within Mini Compact Areas in the Autonomous Hill Districts of Assam. Digerkuki M.C.A.P.

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of North Cachar Hills District. Shifting cultivation or Jhumming is an age old practice among the tribal communities of the district and about total 70 percent of the land is covered by jhumming. It is also a well recognised fact, that shifting cultivation has detrimental effects on the ecology and hence there has been attempts by the government to stop this practice and find alternative means of cultivation for the jhummiyas. The Mini Compact Area is a Programme which aims to wean away jhummiyas from shifting cultivation and is proposed to be undertaken for a limited number of tribal villages in a compact area. The report on the survey provides a vivid picture of the socio-economic conditions of the people living in the Mini Compact Area of Digerkuki under Maibong Development Block of North Cachar Hill District. An ethnographic note on the three communities Hmar, Kuki and Dimasa on whom the study was conducted is presented along with household data. Ten villages with 300 households having a population of 1773 were taken up under the project. Out of the 300 households, 230 households belong to the Hmar and Kuki tribes and the remaining 70 households belong to the Dimasa tribe. Seventy percent of the population follow Christianity. Infrastructural facilities are not available within the Project area. Transportation system is poor. All the villages are situated at a distance of 61 kms from the Block office. Medical and educational facilities are also not sufficient to meet the requirements of the people. With regard to Civic facilities like the Post Office, Telegraph Office, Health Dispensary, Veterinary Dispensary, etc., the people have to face many difficulties in availing these benefits. Drinking water is a major problem. People use untreated water sourced from kutcha wells, rivers and rivulets.