Don’t sanction Eklavya schools until land already acquired: House panel tells govt.

With more than one-third of the sanctioned Eklavya schools for tribal children not yet functional, primarily because of land unavailability, a House panel on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) told the Ministry of Tribal Affairs not to sanction new schools until land has been made available.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment on Tuesday tabled a report on the action taken by the government on its recommendations made earlier this year.

In this report, the panel noted that the unavailability of land for construction is a reason the Tribal Affairs Ministry is unable to spend a portion of its allocation for Eklavya schools.

It further noted that out of 722 sanctioned EMRS locations, only 477 had been made functional, out of which 341 were being run from their own buildings. In replies to the House panel, headed by BJP MP P.C. Mohan, the government cited the unavailability of land as a reason for over 130 schools being run from rented or other government buildings.

In a report tabled on Tuesday, the House panel said, “The Committee are therefore of the strong view that in future the proposal of setting up of EMRS from State Governments should be considered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs only when they ensure beforehand, the availability of land required for the purpose.” The panel said it expected the government to “deliberate on this issue urgently”.

The House panel also looked at the proposed upgrade of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) that were constructed under the older version of the scheme. The panel recommended that the Tribal Affairs Ministry come up with a timeline for the completion of this work. In its assessment, the House panel had earlier noted that these schools lacked basic facilities like “compound walls, labs, hostels, staff quarters, etc.”

The Parliamentary Committee, in its report, also took issue with the government’s slow progress in setting up Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museums across the country. The panel had earlier noted that the government had inaugurated just three out of the 10 proposed museums to honour the contributions of Adivasi freedom fighters.

The panel reiterated its recommendation to speed up this project, and asked the government to stick to its timelines and avoid delays and cost escalations. It also noted that the government could not assure the panel that the work on museums set to have been finished by the end of 2025 and 2026 was on track.