Gandhinagar: To improve delivery of welfare schemes to tribal communities outside Gujarat’s traditional tribal belt, the state govt has appointed Class I officers of the tribal development department as member secretaries of district-level committees in four non-tribal districts: Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Gir-Somnath and Junagadh.The move, implemented from the 2026-27 financial year under the Mukhyamantri Adimjuth Sarvangi Utkarsh Yojana, is intended to streamline planning, approvals, monitoring and implementation of development works for the Padhar and Siddi communities, whose settlements are scattered across non-tribal areas.Assistant commissioner (Class I), tribal development, Ahmedabad, will serve as member secretary for Ahmedabad and Surendranagar, while the one for Rajkot will be responsible for Gir-Somnath and Junagadh.Earlier, respective district development officers were given additional responsibility for tribal development schemes. Govt said on Sunday the arrangement was less focused as district panchayat officials already had multiple administrative responsibilities.The new system gives the Class I officers direct responsibility for administrative approvals, monitoring and reporting of works that receive in-principle approval under the scheme. This is expected to create a clearer chain of accountability and speed up decision-making. Class II officers will handle local planning, technical processes, post-completion inspections and obtaining completion and utilisation certificates.Govt has also decided to constitute a new district-level committee for Junagadh, following the earlier bifurcation of the district and the creation of Gir-Somnath. The move is aimed at the welfare of Siddi community families across both districts.Govt stated that the new division of responsibilities would establish a link between policy-level decision-making and last-mile implementation. Officials said the arrangement was introduced specifically in the four districts because dedicated tribal development mechanisms, including project administrator offices, are already functioning in Gujarat’s traditional tribal districts under the Tribal Sub-Plan.
