Rajya Sabha passes bill to accord ST status to Hattee community in Himachal Pradesh

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed in the Upper House of Parliament by voice vote. Lok Sabha had cleared the bill in December 2022

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to accord the Scheduled Tribe status to the Hattee community in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh.

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed in the Upper House of Parliament by voice vote. Lok Sabha had cleared the bill in December 2022.

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Piloting the bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the bill provides justice to the Hattee community of Trans Giri area of Sirmour district.

He noted that with the passage of the bill, the ST population in Himachal Pradesh will go up to 5.5 lakh from 3.5 lakh currently.

The bill follows the recommendations of the Himachal Pradesh government that Hattee community be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in respect of the state.

Once the bill gets the President’s nod, members of the Hattee community will be entitled to all benefits which are provided to the Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

Munda said the Odisha government had sent a list of 169 communities to consider for ST status but the Central government has sought further information regarding 81 communities.

Earlier, the tribal affairs minister introduced the bill amid walkout of opposition bloc INDIA against the government’s stance on the demand for a discussion on the Manipur issue.

Taking part in the discussion, Mamata Mahanta (BJD) supported the legislation saying the Hattee community has been demanding for this for a long time but said by just including the community in the ST list will not benefit them and efforts have to be made to provide them higher education and for their economic development.

BJP members Sikander Kumar, Sumer Singh Solanki, Ramilaben Becharbhai Bara, Kalpana Saini supported the bill saying it reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s “sabka saath sabka vikas” motto.

Solanki alleged that opposition members always stayed away from the House whenever there is a discussion on tribals as they never cared for them.

He said for five decades the Hattee community has been asking for this step which the Congress government never considered. Ryaga Krishnaiah (YSRCP) spoke in Telugu during the discussion on the bill.

M Thambidurai (AIADMK) also asked for the inclusion of certain communities in Tamil Nadu, including the fishermen community, in the list of ST.

Several other BJP members, including Samir Oraon, Sakaldeep Rajbhar, Vinay Dinu Tendulkar, Ram Chander Jangra, Sumitra Balmik and Ajay Pratap Singh, also supported the legislation. Soon after the passage of the bill, Rajya Sabha Vice Chairperson Sulata Deo adjourned the House for the day.

Deo, along with PT Usha, S Phangnon Konyak, Fauzia Khan, V Vijaysai Reddy, Ghanshyam Tiwari, L Hanumanthaiah and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, was last week nominated by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to the panel of vice chairpersons.