LPG, hostel and road connectivity see the least progress in the Centre’s scheme for tribals
Almost two years into the government’s Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) program for basic interventions in targeted tribal villages, progress has been slow, with the least progress seen so far in interventions that were supposed to fall under the Union Ministry of Education, Union Ministry of Rural Development and Union Jal Shakti, among other ministries, the chart shows.
The DAJGUA program has been running since October 2024 and was supposed to bring up to 25 interventions in remote tribal villages and blocks under 17 ministries.
Only four of the 692 sanctioned hostels for Scheduled Tribes (ST) students across the country have been completed since the program began, with the education department releasing about 27% of the funds sanctioned for the intervention. Foundation stones for about 300 hostels have been laid, according to government figures.
Moreover, data presented in Parliament by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs shows that about 5% of target beneficiaries of smokeless tobacco products have so far received LPG connections and not a single road or bridge has been completed to connect more than 1,700 remote tribal villages.
As part of the rural housing crackdown, while the government has sanctioned over 17.2 million houses, around 7.8 million have been completed.
About 34% of the sanctioned 2.86 million households have been electrified so far under the grid household electrification intervention. Further, under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government has fed 47% of over 63,000 tribal villages with tap water supply.
The data was shared in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question on the progress of the DAJGUA programme.
In response, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey said the ministry had identified “implementation issues” in rural housing, road connectivity and other interventions. The minister attributed the delays to “procedural issues, land constraints, statutory clearance and coordination issues between implementing agencies”.
Published – 22 Jul 2026 19:44 IST