Canacona: At a meeting in Kheddem, Quepem, on Monday, the Scheduled Tribes of Goa demanded that elected representatives and senior officials visit remote tribal villages, assess ground realities, and draw up time-bound development plans. Speakers challenged the officials concerned to spend at least two days in these villages to experience persistent hardships involving roads, drinking water, healthcare, education and livelihood options.An elderly speaker alleged that several tribal settlements still lack basic infrastructure despite significant spending under various programmes. Participants also flagged barriers to accessing govt schemes, unfilled vacancies, agricultural insecurity, and weak grievance redressal. They insisted that funds earmarked for tribal development reach intended beneficiaries and translate into measurable outcomes.At least 150 people from the Balli–Adnem panchayat attended, along with ST functionaries and representatives from Quepem, Ponda, Sanquelim, Canacona, Sanguem and Salcete.The meeting noted that more than 2,500 ST backlog vacancies in govt departments remain pending, and about 9,500 Individual forest rights claims are yet to be decided. Speakers said tribal sub-plan benefits have not reached many eligible families, and called for protection of tribal land, traditional livelihoods, and community rights. They demanded time-bound decisions backed by transparent monitoring and regular public reporting.Dheeraj Talpekar of Khola, Quepem, outlined welfare schemes for ST beneficiaries but said complex online applications, heavy documentation, and administrative delays block poor families, farmers and students. He urged village-level seva camps and simplified procedures.Women’s wing coordinator Harsha Wadkar warned that development projects could damage tribal lands, biodiversity and cultivated areas, threatening livelihoods, rituals, and community life. She called for stronger safeguards.
