Nine suggestions from Odisha were proposed by a task committee under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 2014 as priority cases for inclusion in the State’s ST list, but they had not yet been informed in the Presidential Order.
On Saturday, Shri Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, urged the federal government to take into account adding more than 160 clans to the State’s Scheduled Tribes list.
Shri Naveen Patnaik wrote in a letter to Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, “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.”
“Some of these are brand-new entries. Others are subtribes or subsets, synonyms, and phonetic variations of the existing ST community living in various parts of the State who are not receiving benefits even if they share similar tribal traits with their respective notified STs, he explained.
The Odisha CM said that nine suggestions from Odisha had been identified as priority cases for inclusion in the State’s ST list in 2014 by a task committee under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, but they had not yet been made known in the Presidential Order.
All of the state’s 160+ communities, according to Mr. Patnaik, are becoming the victims of historical injustice as a result of the delay in their inclusion on the ST list.
The chief minister of Odisha requested Mr. Munda to hasten the scheduling of these excluded people so that they might receive social justice in accordance with the Indian Constitution. He wrote in his letter, “This shall go a long way in aiding these underprivileged communities by providing them their much-needed recognition as ST and guaranteeing social fairness.”
Shri Naveen Patnaik requested quick action to fix the long-pending issue, reminding the Union Minister that he had already sent three letters with the identical demand.
Since the BJP supported President Droupadi Murmu’s nomination, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) administration has increased its outreach to tribal groups. The Odisha Millet Mission recently received approval from the State Cabinet for a budget of 2,808 crore. The cultivation of millets, a crucial component of tribal cuisine, will be aided through promotion, which will also support native communities.
Prasanta Patnaik