The Central Government is ramping up efforts to bring Odisha’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) into the mainstream with the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan, or PM JANMAN. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Durgadas Uikey, recently presented fresh numbers in the Lok Sabha. He said officials used the PM Gati Shakti mobile app to run an extensive survey, mapping out population counts and pinpointing gaps in everything from housing to electrification. The main objective is to Make sure every scheme / policies reaches even the state’s remotest and most vulnerable regions.
The survey found that Odisha’s PVTG population numbers 3,12,234 people in 72,988 households. These families live across 1,759 habitations spread over 1,302 villages, covering 54 blocks in 14 districts. This data serves more than a visual purpose—it has the potential to guide targeted rollouts of welfare schemes that tackle critical needs like housing, healthcare, electricity, and basic connectivity, aiming to fix long-standing gaps.
The minister gave an update on the PM JANMAN mission in Odisha. Here’s where things stand:
Housing and utilities: Nearly 29,000 out of 41,000 approved pucca homes are finished. Electrification has reached 5,242 out of 5,693 target households. Clean drinking water projects are up in 605 of 1,196 villages.
Health and welfare: Medical and childcare infrastructure is running at full capacity—59 Mobile Medical Units and all 89 Anganwadi Centres are now operational.
Economic growth: With an aim for Tribal entrepreneurship getting boost—49 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and 44 out of 74 Multipurpose Centres are up and running.
Infrastructure gaps: There’s still some work to do here. Only 35 km of the planned 211 km of road have been built, and 297 out of 512 habitations have mobile towers. All 76 sanctioned hostels for tribal students are still being constructed.
Minister said the Centre is committed to working with Odisha’s government to push past these bottlenecks and make sure all welfare schemes reach their targets.