Parliament Passes Amendment bill to Include Three PVTGs in Scheduled Tribes List after 75 Years
Last Updated on February 9, 2024 by News Desk
The Parliament has cleared the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, based on the recommendation of the State Government of Andhra Pradesh and consultation with the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
The bill seeks to replace Entry 25 in the Schedule to Part I of the ST Order, 1950 (Andhra Pradesh) with “Porja, Bondo Porja, Khond Porja, Parangiperja” and Entry 28 with “Savaras, Kapu Savaras, Maliya Savaras, Khutto Savaras.”. This will result in the addition of three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) communities to the Scheduled List: Bondo Porja and Khond Porja as synonyms of the Porja Tribe, and Konda Savaras as synonyms of the Savaras Tribe.
The bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda and passed by the Upper House on February 6, 2024, by voice vote. Indian National Congress MP L Hanumanthaiah questioned why the government cannot look at the entire SC/ST list afresh and make it “inclusive” across the country. The bill has now been cleared by the Lok Sabha within three days.
India has a total of 75 PVTGs, but it is only after 75 years of independence that the matter of inclusion of the three PVTGs in the Scheduled List has been taken up by the government.
The proposal is followed by the launch of the PM PVTG Development Mission under the Union Budget 2023–24 to provide access to basic facilities to PVTGs. Write a headline for this news article.
