Journal Press India^®

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

The paper intends to study the socio-economic conditions of the tribals residing in the remote hilly and forest areas, in the area of Thane and Raigad districts in Maharashtra. The people are very poor economically, socially and educationally. They are living hand to mouth. They depend mostly on the forest produce and agriculture for their livelihood. The government officials for the upliftment and development of the tribal are over there but many people are not aware about the government programmers and schemes. In terms of methodology, both primary and secondary data have been used. Data are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. Wherever necessary, quantitative data have been presented in tabular and graph forms. The paper concludes that in both Thane and Raigad districts, the socio-economic status of the tribal people is substantially lower than the general people. There is an urgent need to launch income generating, educational, and health awareness programmes to help them to take up opportunities given by NGOs and government.

Keywords

Socio-economic status, tribal population, Thane and Raigad districts, Maharashtra, constitutional obligation, and education attainment.

1. Barge, Shweta. (2010). Transition of pardhi tribe: Understanding socio-economic and judiciary aspects in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra (unpublished dissertation) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
2. Devindrappa, K. & Shinde, Rahul V.  (2014). Socio-economic conditions of scheduled tribes in Karnataka. Indian Streams Research Journal, 4(8).
3. Lalrinliana, J. & Kanagaraj, E. (2006). SHGs and Tribal Development in Mizoram. Kurukshetra, 54(3): 37-48.
4. Nath, T. K., Makoto, I., Islam, M. J. & Kabir, M. A. (2003). The Khasia tribe of North-eastern Bangladesh: Their socio-economic status, hill farming practices and impacts on forest conservation. Forest, Trees and Livelihood, 13(4): 297-311.
5. Purushothaman, S. (2005). Land-use Strategies for tribals: A socioeconomic analysis. Economic and Political Weekly, December, 5611-5619.
6. Takmaki, Rekha. (2012). Socio –economic development of tribal women: Changes and challenges .The women press: Delhi.