The Group of Ministers (GoM), led by Tribal Affairs (Plains) minister Ranoj Pegu, will hold talks with the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) on December 4 to address the latter’s concerns over the report on the proposal to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six OBC (Other Backward Classes) communities in the state. The communities seeking ST status comprise Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribe (Adivasi).
The development comes in the wake of protests led by the CCTOA, an umbrella body of 26 tribal groups, since Saturday, rejecting the proposal by the GoM and warning of long-term implications for the existing 14 ST communities in the state. According to a letter from the state government’s tribal affairs (plains) department to the CCTOA chief coordinator, the meeting is scheduled at the conference hall of the Assam tribal affairs (Plains) minister here on Thursday afternoon. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that the CCTOA would be invited for a meeting the Committee of GoM where the report related to the proposal for granting tribal status to six communities would be discussed. “If required, I will also hold discussions with the CCTOA,” Sarma said.
The interim report of the GoM proposes a three-tier classification – ST (Hills), ST (Plains) and ST (Valley) within the reservation system for STs in Assam. This approach aims to enable the inclusion of the six communities without affecting the reservation currently available to existing ST groups. “We have noticed that some groups, especially the CCTOA, have not read the report properly but commented on it in the media,” the chief minister had said.
He further said that the Cabinet believed that the report would facilitate the path to grant ST status to the six communities without affecting the existing tribal communities. “There could be difficulty in reading and understanding the details, which might have led to doubts among some groups. To bridge this gap, the GoM will invite CCTOA representatives for direct discussions and explain the report to alleviate any misunderstanding,” Sarma informed the media.
“We acknowledged the fact that there may be some apprehensions among some sections. At the same time, it could be that the report was not read properly. We believe that once the three-member Cabinet committee explains the report, these apprehensions will be allayed,” the Chief Minister said.