VIJAYAWADA: Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, by voice vote modifying the list of scheduled tribes in Andhra Pradesh.
Accordingly, three more ethnic groups of AP – Bonda Porja, Khond Porja and Parangiperja – will be added to the list of scheduled tribes in the state.
Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda, who piloted the Bill, said there are 75 Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Andaman Island to the mainland. The government started a scheme and worked in mission mode to reach these tribes living in far flung areas, so that they are not deprived of their constitutional rights or faced injustice.
Similarly, Rajya Sabha also passed by voice vote another Bill – Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 – modifying the list of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Odisha.
Munda thanked members for supporting both the Bills, pointing out that the government has launched schemes such as PM-JANMAN to improve the socio economic conditions of the PVTGs.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the two Bills seek to correct the historical anomalies with inclusion of seven communities from Odisha and AP in the SC / ST list. He underlined that passage of the bills in both the houses of Parliament will have an immense socio-economic and psychological impact on the primitive tribes.
