Will consider tribal status for other areas, says Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur

Shimla, September 15

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today said the government would look into the demand for the grant of Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to other areas of the state.

Only Hattees got ST status

The grant of ST status to Hattees will help them get several benefits, besides additional funds. It is only the Hattees and not the entire area, which has been granted the ST status. This has been done under Article 342 of the Constitution. — Jai Ram Thakur, Chief minister

Thakur, while addressing mediapersons here, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the Cabinet approval to the proposal granting tribal status to Hattees of the Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district. He said the Prime Minister had also sanctioned a bulk drug park and a medical devices park for Himachal.

He said that the grant of Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to Hattees would help them get several benefits, besides additional funds. “It is only the Hattee community and not the entire area, which has been granted the ST status. This has been done under Article 342 of the Constitution,” he added.

Thakur said that efforts would be made to get the entire area declared as tribal, which would be done separately under Article 244 of the Constitution. “We will look into the demand for the grant of ST status to other areas in Himachal. It is a very lengthy and cumbersome procedure,” he said while responding to a question on ST status demanded by the people of Dodra Kawar and Chopal in Rohru, Chhota Bhangal in Baijnath and Malana in Kullu.

He said, “The BJP vigorously pursued the issue for the grant of ST status to Hattees and got all relevant information sought by various agencies such as the Tribal Affairs Ministry to expedite the matter. The people of the Trans-Giri area have been seeking ST status since 1967 when the residents of Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand got the benefit.”

The Chief Minister said that 154 panchayats, 389 villages and 1.59 lakh people living in the four Assembly segments of Shillai, Renukaji, Pachhad and Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district would benefit from yesterday’s decision of the Union Cabinet. He added that 141 villages in Pachhad, 122 in Renuka, 95 in Shillai and 31 in Paonta Sahib would benefit from the decision.

BJP president Suresh Kashyap, Power Minister Sukh Ram Chaudhary, Pachhad MLA Reen Kashyap and former MLA Baldev Tomar were present on the occasion.