Rajya Sabha passes Bill related to tribals; to help Bhogta and other communities of Jharkhand

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 30

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to remove Bhogta caste from Scheduled Castes (SC) list in Jharkhand and include it, and certain other communities, in Scheduled Tribes(ST) list in the State.

This signals Union government’s concerted outreach to the ST. 

The bill will facilitate Bhogta and other tribal communities entry into the list of ST list in Jharkhand, which is preponderated by tribal communities.

In the reply to discussion on the Bill, Union Tribal Minister Arjun Munda informed the House that the government is studying the recommendations of the different states with regard to inclusion of certain communities in ST list.

“We will bring such amendments related to more states in the House. We have done (such amendments for) Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka. Now, it is being done in case of Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Jharkhand. We are doing research on Odisha. We have completed the work in Chhattisgarh, but we are working on some observations given on that by the law ministry.” 

He said the NDA government’s focus in the past about eight years has been on empowering the tribal community through welfare measures, education, health, their skill development, etc.

He made a mention of government’s Eklavya Schools to promote education among ST children.Now such schools are being opened at Bloc level  besides at the district headquarters.

He further said that the government’s focus on development of “aspirational districts” was also helping upliftment of the tribals and other poorest sections.

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Rajya Sabha, during the first half if the present Budget Session.

It seeks to omit Bhogta community from the list of Scheduled Castes in Jharkhand and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

Besides, it aims at facilitating people to get more benefits from quota policies in education and government jobs.

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