Rajya Sabha passes Bill on Scheduled Tribes status to Darlong community

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2022. The Bill seeks to include the Darlong community of Tripura at par with the Kuki tibe in the Scheduled Tribes list.

During the discussion, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Renuka Singh Saruta said that she welcomed the suggestions made by the members, and assured that the Tribal Ministry has been continuously working, and the inclusion of Darlong community into Schedule Tribes (ST) at par with the Kukis, will allow the community to avail the benefits given to the STs in the country.

Saruta said that the culture and traditions of the tribal communities are a very sensitive issue, and the Tribal Ministry has been working continuously to provide the necessary help to these communities.

Responding to queries of Congress MP Phulo Devi Netam, the Minister said that she hails from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, and has requested to include more tribal communities to the STs' list.

Referring to the measures taken by the Government for uplifting the lives of the tribal people and to provide better education to tribal children, the Government established 'Eklavya Schools' in the region.

"In 2013-14, the number of Eklavya schools was 167, which has been increased to 689 in 2021-22. In these schools, 460 tribal children are studying from class 6 to 12 under the CBSE course," the Minister told the House. (IANS)

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