Jharkhand

• 08 Feb 2022

Amendment Bill to Change the List of SC-ST

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda introduced an amendment bill to change the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha.

Key Points

• According to the bill, along with the Bhogta community of Jharkhand, Tamaria/Tamdia, Purana, Deshwari, Ganjhu, Daulatbandi (Dwalbandi), Patbandi, Raut, Majhiya, Khairi (Kheri) will also be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST).
• Coming from SC to ST, including Bhogta, they will get the benefit of being included in the purview of larger reservations. There is currently 10% reservation for SC and 26% for ST in the state. Due to this, they will be able to benefit from additional reservation.
• The Tribal Research Institute (TRI) had recommended in the year 2002 to list Tamaria/Tamad in the category of Munda. At the same time, the recommendation to include Puran in ST was made by the Tribal Research Institute in 1993.
• It is noteworthy that during the tenure of the UPA government, in the year 2014, the then Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Dr. Rameshwar Oraon had recommended the inclusion of Bhogta caste in the Scheduled Tribes by removing it from the category of Scheduled Castes.