Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: At a time when there are discussions on the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on according ST status to six communities of Assam, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durga Das Uikey informed the Lok Sabha today that "as per the laid-down modalities for deciding the claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in orders specifying Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lists, only those proposals which have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government/UT Administration and concurred with by the Registrar General of India (RGI) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) are to be considered and legislation amended."
In case of any comments/observations by RGI/NCST, the proposals are communicated to the States/UTs seeking clarifications. All actions on the proposals are taken as per these approved modalities, the Union minister said.
In the case of the six communities of Assam demanding ST status, the GoM already tabled its report on November 29, 2025, in the Winter Session of the Assam Assembly. However, the GoM report is under discussion at various levels regarding its possible changes. The state government is supposed to send the GoM report to the central government.
Also Read: ST status to unqualified communities not negotiable with GoM: TRPA