AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha announced that the all-encompassing development of the Janajati (tribal) communities is a top priority of the BJP government. He revealed that the state has secured a loan of Rs 1,400 crore from the World Bank under the Externally Aided Projects (EAP) scheme to fund the comprehensive development of tribal-inhabited regions.

Addressing a government function at Killa in southern Tripura’s Gomati district, CM Saha stated that this loan would be used to implement projects aimed at resolving critical issues such as road infrastructure, electricity, water supply, healthcare, and education for tribal areas.

“We are committed to the overall development of the Janajati people. The BJP-led government has no intention of engaging in any form of political manipulation with the Janajati communities,” Saha asserted.

The Chief Minister further highlighted that the state’s development is impossible without the upliftment of tribal regions. He revealed that more than 40 per cent of the 2025-26 state budget has been allocated for the development of tribal-inhabited areas.

In the 2024-25 financial year, the state government had earmarked Rs 6,645 crore, representing 39.06 per cent of the total budget of Rs 27,000 crore, for tribal area development.

Since the BJP government assumed power in 2018, a significant policy change was introduced, with an honorary allowance of Rs 2,000 for Janajati community leaders, which has recently been increased to Rs 5,000 by the state Cabinet.

“For the 2024-25 fiscal year, approximately Rs 6,500 crore was allocated for the development of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, which accounts for 39.06 per cent of the total expenditure. For the current financial year (2025-26), the allocation for the TTAADC is approximately Rs 7,149 crore,” CM Saha said.

With elections for the politically significant TTAADC scheduled for early next year, both the ruling BJP and its allies – the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) – are separately working to strengthen their influence among the tribal communities.

The TMP, led by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, has been in control of the 30-member TTAADC since 2021.

The TTAADC administers nearly two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 square kilometres and is home to more than 12.16 lakh people, around 84 per cent of whom belong to tribal communities. Both TMP and IPFT are tribal-based political parties.

Tribals make up about one-third of Tripura’s population of four million and hold significant sway in the state’s electoral politics. Of the 60 Assembly seats, 20 are reserved for tribal candidates. (IANS)