Dynamics of Tribal

Rehabilitation in Tripura

Indraneel Bhowmik
&
Prof. Aparajita Mukherjee
The Discourse

Introduction

Rehabilitation- what, why & how

Natural Rubber- Profile

NR based rehabilitation

Observations

Critical evaluations

Conclusions

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 2
 Tripura- the land & the people

Second smallest in size but second largest in
population in the NER

60 percent land under forest cover & mostly hilly

Ethnic mix- 31% ST, 17% SC

Population growth- mostly during partition & the
1971 War

Predominance of Jhum cultivators- migratory

Bangla speaking majority- settled cultivation

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 3
Rehabilitation
………..of the poor landless shifting cultivators
as they lived in abject poverty deprived of any
human development facilities

……….by providing them a settled life with

viable economic opportunity to enjoy the
fruits of development and avail the education
and health facilities

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 4
 Rehabilitation process…….some measures
•The first attempts at rehabilitation -1930-31.
-70,400 acres (11264 ha)- Kalyanpur Reserve in the
Khowai subdivision

•First Five Year Plan- special emphasis to the tribal

welfare programmes----- Colonisation of the jhumias-
pilot project at Belonia sub-division in 1953.

TTADC in January 1982; Sixth Schedule- 1985; & STDCL in 1979

Tribal Sub Plan- proportionate budget provision by each development
department of the state government
 37 point development package HIMSWKANG in 2003
Special Area Based Development Projects
Rehabilitation programmes for jhum cultivators- agriculture, forest, plantation,
etc

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 5
 Progress in Rehabilitation Projects

 Considerable decline from in the last two decades- 55049 households in

1987 (Tribal Welfare Department) ……………….. 28628 households in 2005
(State Forest Department)
 Success of the rehabilitation schemes undertaken by
 Tribal Welfare Department
 TRP & PGP Department
 Autonomous District Council
 Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation Corporation (TRPC)
 Forest Department
 Agricultural Department
 Tripura Forest Development Plantation Corporation (TFDPC)

Rubber plantation has been exceptionally successful

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP
organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 6
Natural Rubber

Wide usage– 50000 articles

Supply limited to geo-physical conditions

Highly traded commodity

India’s unique position- major consumer as
well as major producer

Expansion in traditional zone –saturation

Tripura- leader among the non-traditional
areas

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 7
Natural Rubber in Tripura

Introduced as part of afforestation in 1963

Rubber Board office in 1969

2nd largest domestic producer, 36000 ha

State led expansion

1992- World Bank Project

2005- Tripura Rubber Mission

NLRSB- potential of 100000 ha

Target- 85000 ha by 2030

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 8
Economics of Natural Rubber

Long Economic life Indicators Results

Labour intensive- IRR 19%
NPV Rs.149680

Highly Profitable- BC Ratio 2.07
Payback period 10.42 years

Inter-linkage of the domestic price with the

international price

The optimum land size - semi-medium (2 ha to 4 ha)

Small farms subsist only with household labour

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 9
 Rubber based Rehabilitation

encompass land occupancy rights around 1 hectare for a
family ( head of the family is called beneficiary)

entitled to the subsidy provided by Rubber Board

given technical support and training

number of beneficiaries clubbed together as a unit to enjoy
the economies of scale

the rubber tree has a long gestation period –seven years

the beneficiary is employed as labourer in his own field

adopt intercropping like banana and pineapple

income accrues after maturity at the sale of latex

agencies as marketing associates- ensured market

processing as part of society formed by the beneficiaries
Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP
organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 10
Extent of Rehabilitation of shifting cultivators through Rubber Plantation

Agency Till 31/03/2006 2006-07 2007-08

Area Beneficiary Area Beneficiary Target
TFDPC 2915 2413 247 247 160
TRPC 3964 4367 545 578 600
TTAADC 1521 NA 0 0 300
Block Plantation 3047 2651 204 204 150
by Rubber Board
Total: 11447 9431 996 1029 1210

Source- TRPC

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 11
 Average earning of TRPC beneficiaries against supply of latex & scrap

Average Income
Area Number of Production
Year per beneficiary
tapped (ha) Beneficiaries (MT)
(Rs./pa)
2003-04 921 1335 917 20,250/-
2004-05 1044 1396 1036 25,989/-
2005-06 1182 1514 1585 33,458/-
2006-07 1264 1564 1828 60,758/-
Source- TRPC

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 12
Observations
Achievements Hurdles
Macro Macro

Revenue
Managerial Inefficiency

Employment
Insurgency

Value Addition
Industrial Backwardness

Environment Micro
Micro
Low Productivity

Income Flow
Less Efficient

Employment
Indifferent attitude for

Surplus education & health

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 13
 Critical evaluation

Lack of attitude for saving-

Concerned for the short term; Conspicuous Consumption

Appointments of wage labourers for tapping- effecting yield

Booming rubber sector- greater interest

AAGR of NR Price -11.79% between 1999-2005

Craze for tilla land - large scale leasing by Capitalist farmers-
Possibility of land owners turning out to be tappers

Vulnerable to vagaries in the international market

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 14
Social Impact of Rubber based Tribal
Rehabilitation in Tripura

Transition from wage earner to rent seeker

Underutilization of labour

Stagnation or rather maintenance of status quo
even after availing facilities

Underutilization of resources

NEED- Increasing Social Awareness & Consciousness

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 15
 Thank You

Your comments & suggestions are welcome at

eyebees@gmail.com

Presentation at the 8th session of the ICSP

organised by VBU, Santiniketan, 2008 16