Mumbai, June 25 -- To woo the tribal community ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Council (BMC) elections, the state cabinet on Tuesday has agreed to increase the allowance given to tribal students staying in government hostels. The food, education, subsistence allowance of over 58,000 tribal students will be raised by 40%-100% putting an additional burden of Rs.83.66 crore on the state. The tribal development department has 490 hostels for students from tribal communities, 284 for boys and 206 for girls, with a total capacity of 58,700. To encourage students from tribal communities to complete their higher education the government gives them allowances for food and educational material along with a subsistence allowance. Due to rising inflation levels, the cabinet has decided to revise these allowances. The monthly subsistence allowance for students living in rural hostels has been raised from Rs.500 to Rs.1000, at a district level from Rs.600 to Rs.1300, and at a divisional level from Rs.800 to Rs.1400. The additional allowance for girls has been raised from Rs.100 to Rs.150. The annual allowance for buying educational material has been raised from Rs.3200 to Rs.4500 for Class 8-10, and from Rs.4000 to Rs.5000 for students in junior college or diploma courses. For tribal students pursuing degree courses the allowance will be raised from Rs.4500 to Rs.5700, and for students enrolled in medical and engineering courses it has been increased from Rs.6000 to Rs.8000. The monthly food allowance has been increased from Rs.3500 to Rs.5000 for students living in municipal corporations and divisional cities, and for those in district level hostels it has been raised from Rs.3000 to Rs.4500. The government has been spending Rs.144.74 crore on these allowances per year, and the hike will raise the total expenditure to Rs.228.41 crore per year, an increase of Rs.83.66 crore....