INDUSTRIALISATION OF TRIBAL AREAS IN ANDHRA PRADESH - Report of the Expert Committee

Abstract

The scheduled areas of Andhra Pradesh, like other areas, are rich in forests, minerals and water resources. But the tribals living in these areas do not have the necessary initiative to utilize these natural resources to their advantage by promoting industrial activities or adopting modern agricultural technology. Therefore, it is imperative for them to plan for human resource development so that they have not only technical and management skills but also entrepreneurial capabilities. In addition to this practice, scientific mapping of available natural resources should be done so that planning and rapid industrialization can be achieved to establish suitable industries. It is also this task that the Government of Andhra Pradesh have addressed themselves and constituted an Expert Committee on Industrialization of Tribal Areas in the State. The committee comprised the nine members and these committee covers nine aspects regarding the establishment of Industries in the tribal areas. The committee examined the different background papers submitted to it by various departments and agencies. The committee convened a seminar on the 12th November, 1975 on Industrialization of Tribal Areas for the purpose of having a dialogue on them with the field level functionaries. The participants of the seminar included in addition to the members of the experts in different fields. The issues which the seminar considered among others were factors inducing industrial growth in scheduled areas, identification of growth centers, raw material-based industries, industrial based on skills and identification of entrepreneurs. The committee constituted sub-committee comprising D.R.Pratap its Convenor, and KC Asthana, Industry Advisor. The committee scrutinized various tribal problems, material collected and preparing the draft report. the sub-committee conducted further discussion in details with the representatives of various departments and agencies and prepared the draft report. Project profiles are mostly prepared by the Industries Department and Khadi and village Industries Commission. These profiles attempt to give broad outline of industries suggested in Scheduled Tribes areas but these profiles are not to be taken as the last word and a lot of further feasibility study has to go into them before the industries contemplated in Scheduled Tribe areas are set up. Seminar proceedings project the ideas and opinions of the participants taken for the project. Finally, statistical statements furnish useful information on scheduled tribes, financial resources, action programmes and recommendations also presented by the Committee.