Guwahati: As part of its renewed push to bridge developmental gaps in tribal regions, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India is accelerating the rollout of its two flagship schemes Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DASHGWA) across the Northeast. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) hosted a regional workshop in Guwahati on Tuesday, the fourth in a six-part national series, to review progress and strengthen on-ground implementation in the region.
“Our objective is to reach the last mile to saturate tribal villages with housing, drinking water, electricity, education, health, and financial access,” said Manish Thakur, Additional Secretary, MoTA, in an exclusive interview with Business North East (BNE).
“These workshops are a way to directly engage states and address localised issues. We are monitoring this at the highest levels of government,” he added. The workshops have already been held in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bhopal, with the final session scheduled for Delhi.
Thakur emphasized the urgency of awareness-building alongside infrastructure. “We are launching an intensive village-level campaign from June 15–30. Over 300 to 400 awareness camps are being held daily across India, and we expect similar enthusiasm from the Northeast,” he said. “The aim is to inform tribal communities about their rights, entitlements, and the benefits under these schemes,” he stressed.
The financial scale of these two schemes is historic. PM-JANMAN, launched in November 2023, carries a total outlay of Rs 24,104 crore, including Rs 15,336 crore as the central share and Rs 8,768 crore from states. It targets 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) across 18 states and one Union Territory. The deliverables include nearly 5 lakh pucca houses, 8,000 km of roads, thousands of household electrifications, and vocational centres. Meanwhile, DASHGWA, launched in October 2024, is a multi-ministerial convergence plan with a sanctioned outlay of Rs 79,156 crore Rs 56,333 crore from the Centre and Rs 22,823 crore from states. It aims to drive improvements in education, health, digital access, livelihoods, and skill development in tribal-majority villages.
"We're launching an intensive awareness campaign between June 15–30. Over 300–400 village-level camps are being conducted daily to ensure tribal communities know their rights and entitlements under these schemes," Thakur stated.
"We expect the same enthusiasm from the Northeast as we have seen in other regions like Bhopal, Chennai, and Hyderabad," he added.
For states like Mizoram, this marks the first-time participation in DASHGWA. Biakthansangi Hrahsel, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Tribal Affairs and the state’s Nodal Officer for MoTA, welcomed the initiative.
"For Mizoram, this is the first time we’re availing the DASHGWA scheme. The shared experiences from other Northeastern states have been extremely helpful," she said.
"Our request for cross-regional exposure visits has been approved by MoTA, and we’re confident this will boost implementation outcomes," she added.
Hrahsel emphasized that awareness and sensitization remained core challenges. “We need to educate not just the rural tribal population but also our line departments about the schemes and MoTA's objectives of saturating basic services in these regions,” she said.
On a positive note, she highlighted that the state is witnessing a rise in tribal entrepreneurship. “With limited government jobs, many youngsters are now taking entrepreneurship seriously. The newly launched Startup Mission and incubation centres are accelerating this shift,” she added.
In Nagaland, however, implementation faces deeply rooted land and accessibility issues. Imsumeren, Project Officer at the Department of Tribal Affairs, pointed out that community land ownership remains a major roadblock. “Most land in Nagaland belongs to tribal communities, and this complicates project rollout like infrastructure projects like housing or road development under PM-JANMAN. Moreover, terrain and road conditions make many villages hard to access,” he said.
He also cited the lack of access in remote terrains, "Many villages are inaccessible due to poor road connectivity. This is a core challenge we hope to address through the new schemes," he added. However, the state has initiated groundwork, "We’ve recently received sanctions and have set a timeline to complete the first phase of projects by the end of the year," he said.
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Despite the bottlenecks, Nagaland has made early progress. “We recently received our project sanctions and have set internal deadlines to finish the first phase by year-end,” Imsumeren stated. The state is simultaneously implementing the Pradhan Mantri Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY) and has already covered 326 out of 530 planned villages. “It’s an ongoing project with visible development activities,” he added.
Across the region, implementation is uneven but advancing. In Assam, over 2,000 pucca houses have been sanctioned under PM-JANMAN, although seasonal floods have delayed some construction. Arunachal Pradesh has started mapping DASHGWA villages, with the state banking on the Frontier Highway to ease logistics. Meghalaya is prioritizing tribal education and nutrition under DASHGWA. Tripura and Sikkim are finalising block-level implementation frameworks. In Manipur, progress has been slowed by landslides and unrest, with the outreach campaign pushed to July.
“This is not just a government review it’s a mission to align local governance, civil society, and communities with a national vision of tribal empowerment,” Thakur concluded.
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