In an uneven plot of land nestled between green carpeted hills at Kochukilikkodu in Vithura panchayat in rural Thiruvananthapuram, around 20 workers are digging a farm pond.
At this time of the year, in late October, these workers who get much of their employment through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), have all crossed 100 days of their stipulated work limit, while a few are nearing 200 days.
Tribal Plus, the State government’s initiative launched in 2018 to provide an extra 100 days of guaranteed employment to the tribal population, has enabled this situation, making it the only State to provide employment beyond the stipulated 100 days to a section of the population.
“Earlier, we used to exhaust the allotted 100 days of work under MGNREGS in the first few months of the year, making it hard for us to survive after that. But, after Tribal Plus was implemented, we have enough money in our hand through the year. Women here now have sufficient money to take care of their children’s educational needs or for their own medical needs, although the savings may not be big,” says Padmini Madhavan Kani, who works along with her husband here.
In 2022-23, as many as 29,083 Scheduled Tribe families benefited from Tribal Plus across Kerala, as per the data from the State’s MGNREGS Mission. Out of this, a total of 3,312 households completed 200 days of work. It all began in 2017 as a pilot project implemented by the Local Self Government department with funds from the Scheduled Tribes Development department in Palakkad district’s Attapady tribal block, one of the most economically backward districts of Kerala.
“Attapady Plus showed us the potential of this programme, as work participation among tribal families as well as the average annual income for each family increased considerably. So, the next year, it was expanded across the State. The number of ST households in Attapady block employed under Tribal Plus has increased from 6,454 in 2017-18 to 8,650 in 2021-22,while the person days of work provided during this period has increased from 3.3 lakh to 9.05 lakh. The per-family income has increased from ₹13,655 to ₹30,851,” says P. Balachandran, Programme Officer, MGNREGS State Mission.
According to MGNREGS officials in Vithura, the people in tribal villages, especially above 50 years of age, work within their ‘Oorukoottam’ (tribal group) and rarely venture out for work. The fall in market demand for baskets, mats and other products made of reed and similar materials, which were traditionally made at home by the tribal population, have also affected their livelihood in recent years. Though the 100 days of guaranteed work under MGNREGS was a relief, it was not sufficient. Tribal Plus is seeking to address this lacuna to an extent.
Their work is being used for water conservation efforts in the high ranges, with a large number of farm ponds, rain harvesting pits and work to revitalise streams, as well as for preparing individual land for farming activities.
“Now, we spread out the work throughout the year, instead of the earlier situation of sitting idle for 4-5 months. My daughter, too, is working along with me here, and my husband joins in when he does not get rubber tapping work. We have completed 140 days of work this year,” says Sunitha Kumari, working along with a group of women to prepare a terrace farming plot at the Manali ward in Vithura.
