(a) whether the Government has received the State Government of Assam’s report on the granting of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities, namely Chutiya, Koch-Rajbongshi, Motok, Moran, Tai-Ahom and Tea Tribe in Assam;
(b) if so, the timeline for implementation of such reservation;
(c) whether the Government has information regarding the details of all the committees formed in the matter since 2015; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
(a) & (b) : Yes Sir, proposal has been received from the State Government of Assam for inclusion/granting of Scheduled Tribes(ST) status to six communities, namely Matak, Maran, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Koch Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes in Assam. The Government of India on 15.6.1999 (further amended on 25.6.2002), has laid down the modalities for determining the claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modification in the Orders specifying list of Scheduled Tribes. According to these modalities, only those proposals which have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government/Union Territory Administration and concurred with by the Registrar General of India(RGI) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes are to be considered for amendment of legislation. All actions are taken with respect to proposals of State/UT Governments for the communities demanding Scheduled Tribes status as per these modalities. As such, no timeline can be specified for inclusion of communities.
(c) & (d) : A Committee was constituted vide Ministry of Home Affairs (NE-Division) Order No. 11012/43/2016-NE-IV dated 29th February, 2016 to recommend the modalities for granting of Scheduled Tribes status to six Communities namely, Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribes) in Assam under the chairmanship of Special Secretary (IS), Ministry of Home Affairs with its members- Registrar General of India, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Joint Secretary (NE), GoI’s representative for peace talks (Special invitees), Director (NE)( Member Secretary).The Committee also included representatives of Govt. of Assam.
As per the order, the Committee was required to suggest the modalities for the required reservations, of shifting the existing reservation for these communities from OBC to ST, protecting the interests of existing tribes, a mechanism to ensure fairness of reservations within these six communities and related security considerations. The Committee submitted its report on 28.12.2018, which is classified as ‘Secret’.
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