Minister for Women and Child Development and Tribal Welfare G. Sandhya Rani addressing the media at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
Minister for Women and Child Development and Tribal Welfare Gummadi Sandhya Rani on Tuesday said the government had sanctioned ₹113 crore for the improvement of basic infrastructure in 757 tribal schools located across nine Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs). Of this, ₹83 crore was allocated to tribal ashram schools and ₹30 crore to gurukulam schools, she informed.
Addressing a press conference, the Minister said that after the coalition government assumed office, ₹155 crore had already been spent last year on infrastructure development in tribal schools, and this year’s ₹113 crore was meant to further strengthen facilities. The State had 199 Gurukulam and 558 Ashram schools, all of which would be provided with RO water plants, washrooms, and other amenities, she said, informing that construction of 2,012 toilets through Swachh Andhra Corporation was underway.
Ms. Sandhya Rani said in line with the Chief Minister’s directive, prepaid and coin-operated telephones were being installed in all hostels to enable students to communicate with their parents. She said after the recruitment of over 16,000 teachers through DSC, all tribal schools now had adequate teaching staff and the services of 1,100 existing contract teachers were also being continued without termination.
To promote higher education among tribal students, the Minister informed that 150 meritorious students were being trained for IIT, NIT, and NEET entrance exams at centres established in Parvathipuram and Seethampeta, with another centre to be opened soon in Visakhapatnam.
The government had upgraded 5,000 mini-Anganwadis into main Anganwadis, each staffed with a teacher and an ayah. For Saksham Anganwadis, ₹1 lakh per centre had been sanctioned for purchase of TVs and furniture to facilitate audio-visual learning, she said.
She said funds to the tune of ₹24 crore had also been sanctioned for cattle distribution (Gokulams) and ₹20 crore new loans through the Tribal Cooperative Finance Corporation (TRICOR) to support tribal livelihoods. Under MGNREGS, 150 days of employment was being provided to tribal workers, she said.
Referring to an ongoing project for supply of drinking water to 42 villages in the Srisailam forest region, she said tribes such as Chenchus and Yanadis were being issued Aadhaar and ration cards to ensure access to housing, water, and Anganwadi services. Steps were also being taken to distribute land titles to tribals engaged in podu (shifting) cultivation under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006, also known as the Forest Rights Act.
She said for tribal women suffering from sickle cell anaemia, the government was providing iron and calcium supplements and had established a special treatment centre at KGH, Visakhapatnam.
Published – November 04, 2025 08:29 pm IST
