(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 modalities, 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.
Government of Assam has sent proposal for inclusion of six communities, namely, Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran and 36 Tea Tribes (Adivasis) in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Assam. These proposals are under process.
(c) & (d): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal Ministry for notification of a community as Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of the Constitution. The list of Scheduled Tribes is State / UT specific. Concerned State Governments / UT Administrations are responsible for issuance of Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates and verification of social status. Complaints received by Ministry of Tribal Affairs regarding issuance of ST certificate are forwarded to the concerned State Government / UT Administration for taking necessary action. Details of such complaints received are not maintained centrally. In the judgement dated 2-9-1994 of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Kumari Madhuri Patil V/s Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development, Maharashtra (Civil Appeal No. 5854 of 1994), the Hon’ble Supreme Court has given directions regarding streamlining the procedure for issuance and verification of social status certificates. The instructions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court have been conveyed to all State Governments / UT Administrations including Government of Assam for compliance.
(e) & (f): Government has received proposals from various State Governments / UT Administrations for inclusion of communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes of their respective States/UTs, details are given at Annexure. These proposals are at various stages of processing as per the extant modalities.
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Annexure referred to in reply to parts (e) & (f) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3030 for 6.8.2018 on “ST List of Assam”.
Details regarding number of proposals received from various States/ UTs for inclusion of communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
S. No. States / UTs Number of Proposals
1. Andhra Pradesh 3
2. Arunachal Pradesh 1
3 Assam 8
4. Bihar 3
5. Chhattisgarh 27
6 Goa 1
7. Jammu & Kashmir 2
8. Jharkhand 9
9. Karnataka 9
10. Kerala 3
11. Madhya Pradesh 8
12 Manipur 1
13. Odisha 19
14. Punjab 1
15. Sikkim 1
16. Tamil Nadu 8
17 Tripura 1
18. Uttarakhand 1
19. Uttar Pradesh 2
20. West Bengal 3
21. Puducherry 1
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