Panel to look into inclusion of Rai Sikhs in SC list

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 4

Chief Minister Harish Rawat has ordered constitution of a five-member committee headed by Bhag Singh to draft a proposal based on an ethnographic study conducted by Doon University to include the Rai Sikh and Bengali communities in the Schedule Caste list.

The District Magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar district will also be a member of the committee, which will submit its report to the state government by December. The report then will be submitted to the Centre.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat made this announcement while addressing a gathering of Rai Sikhs at Rajkiya Ashram Padhati School Vidora, Majhola, at Nanakmatta today.

Harish Rawat said the sub-mountain region of Uttarakhand is land of development.

He asked the Rai Sikh community to be cautious of divisive forces and make efforts to strengthen the brotherhood in the sub-mountain region of Uttarakhand, which is a symbol of mini India, by protecting its culture and social harmony.

He said the state government would extend all support to sugarcane farmers. He blamed the Central Government for the delay in the payment of sugarcane dues.

He said the state government would pay 75 to 80 per cent of the dues till November through its own resources. He said farmers were not getting appropriate prices for Basmati due to the export ban policy of the Central Government.

Harish Rawat instructed the District Magistrate to conduct a campaign to include Rai Sikhs in revenue village and their names be registered in the family register.

Former MLA Gopal Singh Rana handed over a five-point demand letter to the Chief Minister and appreciated the ongoing development works in the region.

The Youth Rai Sikh Society presented a siropa to Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

President of Zila Panchayat Ishwari Parsad Gangwar, Director-General, Information, Vinod Sharma, DM Pankaj Kumar Pandey and SSP Nilesh Anand Bharne were present.