Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Centre to consider the inclusion of more than 160 communities of the State in the Scheduled Tribes list.
In a letter addressed to Arjun Munda, Union Tribal Affairs Minister, Mr. Patnaik said, “Since 1978 onwards, Odisha government has recommended more than 160 communities of the State to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for their inclusion in the ST list of the State with approval of Tribes Advisory Council.”
“Among these some are new entries. Some others are sub tribes or subsets, synonyms and phonetic variations of the existing ST communities residing in different parts of the State who are being deprived of the benefits availed by STs though they have the same tribal characteristics as their respective notified STs,” he elaborated.
A task force under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs had recommended nine proposals from Odisha as priority cases for inclusion in the State’s ST list in 2014, but they were yet to be notified in the Presidential Order, the Odisha CM pointed out.
“Because of the delay in their inclusion in the ST list, all these 160 plus communities of the State are becoming victims of historical injustice,” Mr. Patnaik said.
The Odisha CM urged Mr. Munda to expedite the scheduling of these left out communities so that social justice would be delivered to them in accordance with the Constitution of India. “This shall go a long way in helping these deprived communities by giving them their much needed recognition as ST and ensure social justice,” he said in his letter.
Reminding the Union Minister that he had sent three letters with same demand prior to the present one, Mr. Patnaik sought urgent action to resolve the long-pending matter.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government has intensified its tribal outreach since President Droupadi Murmu’s nomination was backed by the BJP. The State Cabinet recently approved ₹2,808 crore to implement the Odisha Millet Mission. The promotion of millets, which are an important part of the tribal food basket, will help their cultivation in the tribal heartland and benefit indigenous populations.
