The Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) aims to reduce socio-economic deprivation of scheduled tribes through area-based, multi-sector projects. In the Bharmour tribal region, key social gains typically observed include:
1. Education and human capital
- Opening/ upgrading of primary and secondary schools; residential hostels for remote hamlets; scholarships and bridge courses for first-generation learners.
- Higher enrolment and retention of girls; reduction in dropout rates due to proximity of schools and incentives (mid-day meals, uniforms, bicycles).
- Adult literacy and skill training (tailoring, IT basics, driving, hospitality) improving employability beyond subsistence occupations.
2. Health and nutrition
- Expansion of sub-centres/PHCs, mobile health units and immunization drives; improved maternal and child health services.
- Nutrition support through ICDS/anganwadis, take-home rations and anaemia control; better sanitation and safe drinking water reducing water-borne diseases.
3. Basic services and connectivity
- All-weather roads/footbridges linking high-altitude settlements to markets, schools and health facilities.
- Rural electrification and solar lighting; community drinking-water schemes; improved telecom access enabling emergency response.
4. Livelihood security with social spillovers
- Support to traditional livelihoods (sheep/goat rearing, wool, horticulture, small irrigation) and producer collectives/cooperatives for better prices.
- MGNREGS and skill programmes smoothing seasonal income gaps; reduced distress migration and improved household food security.
5. Inclusion and gender empowerment
- Strengthening of Self-Help Groups and women's federations; access to micro-credit and enterprise training; greater participation in local institutions.
- Targeted assistance for particularly vulnerable households (widows, differently-abled, land-poor).
6. Social infrastructure and housing
- Community centres, hostels, fair-price shops and health sub-centres at the panchayat level; pucca housing and disaster-resilient designs in cold, high-slope areas.
7. Cultural recognition and rights
- Awareness of legal entitlements, forest rights and customary grazing access; documentation and promotion of tribal crafts, festivals and language.
Overall effect
- Improved human development indicators (literacy, IMR/MMR, nutrition), better mobility and voice in local governance, and greater resilience to climatic and market shocks.