New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) No proposal for grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to any community on the basis of duration of residence in the Union Territory of Delhi is under consideration, Minister of State (MoS) for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Replying to a query, the Union Minister added that the grant of Scheduled Tribe status is governed by Article 342 of the Constitution, under which a community can be specified as a Scheduled Tribe only through a notification issued by the President after consultation with the Governor/Administrator concerned.
“Any subsequent inclusion or exclusion is affected only by an Act of Parliament amending the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950,” he said.
“Such proposals are examined against the criteria recommended by the Lokur Committee (1965) — namely, indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and social and economic backwardness — and require a specific recommendation from the state government/UT administration concerned, followed by concurrence of the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes,” Uikey added.
Sharing details of reservation for STs in Union Territories, the Minister of State said reservation is presently provided in political institutions and administrative services.
Uikey said reservation of seats for STs in the UT Legislative Assemblies/Panchayats/Municipalities is provided in proportion to their population under the respective government of Union Territories Act, 1963, the Delimitation Act, 2002, and other applicable local laws, in Union Territories having notified ST population.
Such UTs include Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, he said, adding that no such reservation applies in Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry, since no ST is notified therein.
Talking about ST quota in administrative services, Minister of State Uikey said reservation in direct recruitment to civil posts and services under the Union Territory administrations follows the reservation policy of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which prescribes 7.5 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribes at the all-India level.
In Union Territories with a predominant or substantial ST population (such as Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli), a higher percentage of reservation is provided in local/UT cadre recruitment, commensurate with the local ST population, as notified by the respective UT administration from time to time, Uikey added.
–IANS
rch/khz
