Awareness campaign on tribal welfare schemes to be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district from June 15

District Administration of Palnadu launches awareness campaign to educate tribal communities about welfare schemes for upliftment.

The District Administration of Palnadu, under the guidance of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India, will launch an intensive awareness campaign from June 15 to 30, 2025 to educate tribal communities about key welfare schemes, especially aimed at Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), such as the Chenchu population.

The District Collector P. Arun Babu told The Hindu that these awareness camps would enhance the living standards of the PVTGs in the district, so that they could easily access all the welfare schemes benefits.

According to the 2011 census, there is a total of 7,235 PVTG Chenchu population with 2,143 households in 51 habitations, with a literacy rate of 35.1% in the district.

The campaign is part of the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), launched a couple of years back by MoTA, designed to uplift PVTG tribal communities by ensuring access to essential services. In the first phase, 51 Chenchu habitations in Veldu­rthi, Macherla, Durgi, Karampudi, Bollapalli, and Rentachintala mandals will be covered. With coordination from nine government departments, awareness sessions will highlight 11 essential schemes, including housing, drinking water, electricity, LPG connections, road connectivity, mobile medical units, and Anganwadi centres.

The second phase will extend similar benefits to 31 Chenchu habitations in non-PVTG mandals of the district, following Central Government approval.

Additionally, under the Dharati Abh-Janjatiya Grama Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA–JGUA), 17 habitations across five mandals — Macherla, Durgi, Dachepalli, Achampet, and Bollapalli — will be surveyed to identify infrastructure gaps. With coordination from 17 departments, awareness sessions will cover 25 welfare schemes to bridge the development divide.

The District Administration, under Collector P. Arun Babu, will conduct these sessions through the respective Municipal Planning and Development Offices (MPDOs). Tribal residents are urged to attend with necessary documents such as Aadhaar, bank passbook, health card, job card, electricity bill, gas connection details, and land-related documents to resolve grievances and avail benefits effectively.