INCLUSION OF GANGOTA CASTE OF BIHAR IN ST LIST

Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey informed Lok Sabha that the Government of India on 15.6.1999 (further amended on 25.6.2002 and 14.9.2022) has laid down the modalities for deciding the claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in Orders specifying Scheduled Tribes lists. As per the modalities, only those proposals which have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government / UT Administration and concurred with by the Office of Registrar General of India (ORGI) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) are to be considered and legislation amended. All actions on the proposals are taken as per these approved modalities.

The State Government of Bihar sent a proposal dated 04.11.2019 for inclusion of 'Gangota' community in the Scheduled Tribes list of the State along with an ethnographic report. As per the approved modalities, the said proposal was referred to the ORGI for examination and furnishing comments on the matter. The ORGI did not support the proposal. The comments of the ORGI have been referred to State Government in February 2021 with a request for furnishing justifications/additional information, if any, with regard to the proposal.

The proposals for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes of a State or Union Territory follow certain processes as per the modalities. This is a continuous process. Proposals received from the State Government should be accompanied by an ethnographic report. The proposals are examined by the Office of the RGI and then by the NCST. In case the proposal is not recommended by the ORGI, the State Governments are communicated the points raised by the ORGI, so that additional information, if any, may be furnished by the State Government. Many such proposals may therefore remain under examination at different levels.

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RN/