Agartala, Nov 8 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the all-round development of Janajati (tribal) communities is a top priority of the BJP government, and a loan of Rs 1,400 crore has been taken from the World Bank for the overall development of tribal-inhabited areas.

Addressing a government function at Killa in southern Tripura’s Gomati district, the Chief Minister said that the Rs 1,400 crore loan was taken under the Externally Aided Projects (EAP) to implement various projects and schemes aimed at addressing key issues such as roads, electricity, water supply, health, and education.

CM Saha said, “We want the overall development of the Janajati people. The BJP-led government does not want to do any kind of politics with the Janajatis.”

Emphasising that the development of the state is not possible without uplifting Janajati areas, he said that the state government has allocated more than 40 per cent of the 2025-26 budget for the development of tribal-inhabited regions.

In the 2024-25 financial year, out of the total budget of Rs 27,000 crore, the state government had allocated Rs 6,645 crore for the development of Janajati areas, around 39.06 per cent of the total outlay, he said.

The Chief Minister also noted that after the BJP government came to power in 2018, an honorary allowance of Rs 2,000 was introduced for Janajati community leaders, which has recently been increased to Rs 5,000 by the state Cabinet.

“In the 2024-25 fiscal year, about Rs 6,500 crore was spent for the development of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, which is 39.06 per cent of the total expenditure. For the current financial year (2025-26), around Rs 7,149 crore has been allocated for the TTAADC,” CM Saha said.

With elections to the politically crucial TTAADC due early next year, both the ruling BJP and its allies — the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) — are working separately to strengthen their influence among the tribal communities.

The TMP, led by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, has been governing the 30-member TTAADC since 2021.

The tribal autonomous body administers nearly two-thirds of the state’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals. Both the TMP and IPFT are tribal-based parties.

Tribals constitute about one-third of Tripura’s four million population and play a crucial role in the state’s electoral politics. Of the total 60 Assembly seats, 20 are reserved for tribals.

–IANS

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