Problems faced by Tribal Peoples in Himachal :

Infrastructure needs:

The Tribal area in the state are spread over the District of Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi and Bharmour sub- division of Chamba District. There were seven Tribal Development Blocks in these areas, viz., Kalpa, Pooh, and Nichar (Kinnaur District), Lahaul and Spiti (Lahaul-Spiti District), Pangi and Bharmour (Chamba District). Snow, glaciers, high altitude and highly rugged terrain crisscrossed by fast following rivers and their tributaries are the peculiar features of the tribal belt.

Out of total 55673 square kilometer geographical area of H.P. about 23,655 square kilometer area falls in Scheduled V, which constitutes 42.49 percent of the total area of the state. The total population living in the Scheduled Area is 173,661 of which 123,585 are tribals which constitute nearly 71.16 percent of the total population living in this area. Out of total ST population in the state 68.51 percent resides outside the Scheduled Areas while the rest is dispersed in other districts and regions of the state.

 Tribal areas are situated in geographically difficult terrain, having extreme climate as a result they suffer from isolation, causing inhospitable living conditions due to lack of basic amenities. Due to this, the tribal areas are facing problems in communication, residential, educational and medical facilities. Communication includes transportation facilities. Underdeveloped transportation facilities cause hindrance in development of the area. – link up with other development projects/ programs for providing infrastructure facilities in the project area. Some of the basic issue are :

Produce Storage/ Processing / Marketing related:

Sale and storage of surplus agricultural/ horticulture/  produce is a challenge due to non-availability of storage facilities and market yards, which are very essential to avoid waste and for timely marketing. - Create storage facilities, market yards, processing facilities for value addition and marketing support

Employment Opportunities related :

Lack of employment opportunities in the§ tribal areas, majority of tribal population is dependent on rainfed agriculture, which is seasonal and as a result have to migrate to towns and cities during the peak tourist seasons for earning their livelihood. – Convergence with other government projects/ programs for skill development of tribal youth in the project area.  

Grazing Issues :

 As there is a substantial increase in the flock size of tran humants resulting in grazing issues. However, over the years the number of animals as shown in the grazing permits has remained the same.  People in these areas rear large herds of animal population for meeting their requirement of wool, meat and milch etc. These animals are grazed in the forests and on the government owned pasture lands. Some pastures and forests are also visited by the migratory grazers or transhumants. This is resulting in resource conflict between communities as the forest area allotted for grazing is insufficient and the transhumant communities use panchayat or private lands for grazing.

Education :

Literacy and educational attainment are powerful indicators of social and economic development among the backward groups. Currently, the tribes lag behind not only the general population but also the Scheduled Caste population in literacy and education. This disparity is even more marked among Scheduled Tribe women, who have the lowest literacy rates in the country. The male-female gap in literacy and educational attainment among the scheduled tribes is significant. Education, especially in its elementary form, is considered of utmost importance to the tribals because it?s crucial for total development of tribal communities and is particularly helpful to build confidence among the tribes to deal with outsiders on equal terms. Despite the sincere and concerted efforts by the government for the overall development of the scheduled tribes, they are still far behind in almost all the standard parameters of development.

Access to aminities :

The tribal population has no or very less access to tap water. Three out of every four tribal people continue to defecate in open. Use of clean cooking fuels among non ST people is more than three times compared to STs.

Suggestions :

1) Greater information need regarding forest management, rights and entitlements of communities, 2) opportunities for engaging in forestry operations like raising of nurseries, development of plantation sites, to supplement incomes, 3) greater benefits from the forests in the form of timber distribution, 4) inclusion of community preference / choice of species in plantations or when planning silvicultural operations in an area. 5) provide all basic amenities like health care , education in consulation with communities.