The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has slammed the West Bengal government for the plight of tribals in north Bengal, especially in Jalpaiguri district.

In its suggestion to 14 departments of the state government, the commission urged them to take urgent steps to improve the condition of tribals and has pointed out growing incidents of girl child trafficking and poor implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the area.

This comes after the chairperson of the commission, Urmilla Singh, visited Jalpaiguri district between February 12 and February 17, along her deputy Maurice Kujur to take stock of the condition of tribals. They had also visited the closed tea gardens in the area and interacted with unemployed workers.

Pointing to the rising incidents of girl child trafficking in the area, the commission wrote: “We have received reports of rampant girl child trafficking and it is a serious matter. Urgent steps should be taken to curb it.”

The commission has highlighted the poor implementation of NREGS and stated; “This fiscal year only 23 days of work were given to the tribals on the NREGA scheme which is a dismal scene. The state government must try to create more days of work on this scheme.”

Besides this, the report stated that tribals were being exploited by ration dealers. “It has been noticed that ration cards of tribals are lying with ration dealers and it is not at all desirable,” the report said.

Asking the state excise department to remove illicit liquor shops in the area, the commission stated: “Liquor ruins the life of tribals and it is a curse for them. Why should so many illicit liquor shops be allowed there. This is most unfortunate.”

The commision also urged the state government to allot land of closed tea gardens to tribals, particularly those who worked there.