RS passes 2 bills modifying list of SC, ST in AP, Odisha

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed two bills which seek to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The Upper House cleared the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 by voice vote. The first bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh, while the second one seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Odisha.

Both the bills were piloted by Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda in the upper house. Replying to the debate, he said both the bills have been brought with a long-term planning. In Andhra Pradesh, three more ethnic groups - - Bondo Porja, Khond Porja, Parangiperja are being added to the list of Scheduled Tribes. While in Odisha it will add four groups in the list. All these are part of Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and they have been added to the scheduled list after 75 years of independence.

“There are 75 PVTGs which are spread from Andaman Island to the mainland. The government has started a scheme and worked in mission mode with a target to reach them in the far-flung area in which they reside,” said Munda.

According to him, the names of such 10 PVTGs were not added in the list of scheduled tribes and they were deprived of conditional rights and faced injustice.