BHUBANESWAR: Still, 139 proposals from Odisha demanding ST status for some communities have been pending with the Centre. Earlier this year, the Centre included two new communities and 50 sub-groups in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
One of the prominent communities is the Jhodia tribe from Rayagada and Koraput districts. ST and SC Development Minister Nityananda Gond on Friday told the assembly that the state govt has sent proposals to the Centre to include Jhodia along with others in the ST list.
Gond said the Odisha govt had sent proposals to the Centre in 2002 and 2008 seeking tribal status for the Jhodia tribe, but these requests were rejected then.Later, the state sent another proposal in 2019 to include Jhodia in the ST list. “This request is still pending with the Centre,” he added.
Many communities are demanding their inclusion in the ST category. It will provide them with an identity and facilities earmarked for the STs.
As the tribal communities are not getting ST status, their children are facing problems in admission to govt residential schools under the ST quota. They are not getting stipends, fellowships, or scholarships unlike tribal people of other communities. They are deprived of reservation benefits and govt facilities designed for ST category people.
In February this year, the Centre included more than 50 subgroups of 15 communities in the state’s ST list, which were left out mainly because of phonetic variations in their names from recognised STs. People from these subgroups had been demanding their inclusion in the ST list.
The Centre has included four left-out PVTGs in the list of STs. Two new communities have been added. While Muka Dora, Mooka Dora, Nuka Dora, and Nooka Dora living in Koraput, Nabarangapur, Rayagada, and Malkangiri districts became the 63rd community in the state ST list, Konda Reddy and Konda Reddi became the 64th communities in the ST list.