(a) whether the Government keeps updating the list of State Scheduled Tribes recognized and if so the details thereof;
(b) the steps taken by the Government to include new tribes who fulfil the necessary criteria of recognition into the State schedule Tribal list of different States; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to include tribes notified in the STs list of Arunachal Pradesh as per “Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order”, under article 341?
(a) & (b) : Government of India on 15.6.1999 (as further amended on 25.6.2002), has laid down modalities for deciding claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in Orders specifying lists of Scheduled Tribes (STs). According to these approved guidelines, only those claims that have been agreed to by the concerned State Government / UT Administration, the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (now National Commission for STs) will be taken up for consideration. Whenever representations are received in the Ministry for inclusion / exclusion of any community in/from the list of Scheduled Tribes of a State/ UT, the Ministry forwards that representation to the concerned State Government/ U.T. Administration for recommendation as required under Article 342 of the Constitution. If the concerned State Government/UT recommends the proposal, then the same is sent to the Registrar General of India (RGI). The RGI, if satisfied with the recommendation of the State Government/UT, recommends the proposal to the Central Government. Thereafter, the Government refers the proposal to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes for their recommendation. If the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes also recommends the case, the matter is processed for the decision of the Cabinet. Thereafter, the matter is put up before the Parliament in the form of a Bill to amend the Presidential Order. Cases for inclusion / exclusion which the State Government or the RGI or the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes does not support are rejected.
(c) : Ministry of Tribal Affairs is nodal Ministry for specification of a community as Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of the Constitution of India.
As per the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 (Part XVIII) (with respect to State of Arunachal Pradesh), the list of Scheduled Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh is an open ended list covering all tribes in the State including 16 communities listed therein. Therefore, with regard to the proposal of Government of Arunachal Pradesh regarding inclusion of ‘Yobin’ community in the list of STs of the State, an advisory has been issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the State vide letter dated 22.2.2018 to extend benefits / issue caste certificates to ‘Yobin’ tribe or to any other indigenous tribe.
A proposal has also been received from Government of Arunachal Pradesh for making certain amendments in the list of Scheduled Tribes of the State, including substitution of ‘Any Naga Tribes’ at Sl. No. 10 of the list of STs by ‘Nocte, Tangsa, Tutsa, Wancho’ communities. The proposal is under process as per approved modalities.
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