Parliament clears Bill to grant Scheduled Tribe status to Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh

Tribune News Service

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, December 16

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 to grant ST status to Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh was passed by the Parliament on Friday. While welcoming the move, several Opposition MPs  demanded that instead of a “piecemeal” approach, the Centre should bring one comprehensive law on Scheduled Tribes.

“We need to protect rights of Adivasis, not just reservation,” Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said.

Replying to the debate on the Bill, Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda said once the Bill is passed, people of the Hatti community will enjoy ST status. 

The Bill has already been cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

The government’s move to introduce the Bill came after the Himachal Pradesh government requested the Centre to include the community in the ST list, excluding those communities which are already notified as Scheduled Castes for Himachal Pradesh.

Munda has separate bills in the Winter Session to modify the list of STs in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh. 

In September this year, the Centre approved the inclusion, fulfilling long-pending demands from these states. 

As per the 2011 Census, there are over 700 recognised Scheduled Tribes in India. However, states/UTs like Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, NCT of Delhi, and Puducherry have no listed STs at present.