December 21, 2022
Aparupa Poddar’s speech in the Lok Sabha on 21.12.22 on The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022
Thank you, Chairman, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to speak on the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022. Though it took many years for the Government to come up with the Bill, it is a welcome step. Sir, those who say that reservation has adequately covered all the vulnerable communities, I would like to remind that no reservation or schemes are in place unless the issues of the marginalized communities in disadvantaged regions are comprehensively addressed. Reservation in schools and colleges do not fit on the page when the people from such communities are unnourished and have to travel a far long distance without proper roads. According to a report of the Basic Road Statistics of India, only 63.24 per cent of the total road length is paved in India, and only 30.04 per cent share of roads that runs through reserved forest areas is even surfaced. While only some areas are connected, the condition of those roads too is pathetic. Being a hilly terrain, flash floods badly damage existing roads, making travel a difficult proposition. Still in many regions, goods reach the tribal villages through cable transport lines. The communities also lack access to education and healthcare facilities. India is home to about one-third, that is, 104 million tribal people, of the global tribal and indigenous population, out of which 42 per cent of children are reported to be underweight. In addition to this, the healthcare system and the number of specialists posted in tribal areas are worse than scarce. Most of us have not forgotten the incidents where sick patients in tribal areas are transported in improvised dolis to the closest public health centres. Sir, in the Bill we are speaking for inclusion of tribes residing in Chhattisgarh tribal belt. We have seen that the tribal people in Chhattisgarh use bike ambulances to reach to public health centres. I would suggest the hon. Minster that this type of motorcycle ambulances should be provided to every tribal region where there is no way to reach to the hospitals from their habitations. Most of these are hilly areas where there are very narrow roads, and four wheelers cannot reach. So, bike ambulances should be provided in those areas. Sir, the digital divide is a great issue in the tribal areas where children are missing out on school and the larger technological revolution. Today we are talking about Digital India, but in tribal areas, people, students and the local youth are far away from internet connectivity. Despite the increasing number of sportspersons from tribal communities and their winning medals in India, it has failed to open the eyes of the Central Government and also the local Governments. The sports infrastructure facilities established in the tribal areas are negligible besides the fact that their higher physical stamina could give a boost to the medal tally in sports events also. Therefore, if this type of an amendment is being made to the Constitution, we should also try to change their way of livelihood, provide them good quality hospitals, schools, sanitation, and safe drinking water. We have to provide these facilities to these tribal people whom we are including in the list. Simply including them in the Tribal List will not work. In Chhattisgarh, there is a demand for many years to include Mahara or Mahar in SC List and Amnit in ST List. This demand has been pending for a long time. This should be taken care of because already in Part IV C of Madhya Pradesh Government Gazette of December, 1958, Mahara is included. So, it should be taken care of. There is a need to conduct socio-economic caste census so that we have specific data on various castes. Why has this caste census not been done till date? The Minister should reply to the House on this point. Census data of various castes is essential for proper planning for developing welfare schemes for them so that those castes or communities can benefit from them. If we simply bring a Bill to include them in the list, it does not help them. We know that when we feel cold, we wear a sweater or a shawl. It means that those things should already be there in our house to protect us from cold. That is why, I feel that a caste census should be done. Sir, allocation for employment generation for ST in the Union Budget for 2022- 23 has been reduced from Rs. 89.5 crore last year to Rs. 11.3 crore this year. So, there has been a cut of 87 per cent. According to the Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan, there is an allocation gap of Rs. 40,634 crore for the SC and Rs. 9,399 crore for the ST. This should be taken care of. Sir, West Bengal Government under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee has started many welfare schemes. There is a pension scheme for the elderly persons. Sir, I am the only speaker from my party. I request you to give me five minutes. Many welfare schemes have been started by our hon. Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. We have Jai Johar Scheme under which pension is being provided to the elderly persons of all the SC/ST communities so that the elderly vulnerable persons of these communities can be taken care of. I wish to make another request and give a suggestion. West Bengal Government conducts ‘Duare Sarkar’ which has been appreciated by the Central Government. Such a scheme should be launched in the SC-concentrated areas so that people, who are not able to come to the office of BDO or SDO, can get the benefit of the schemes run by the Government. So, this should be done. Sir, malnutrition among the STs is the most sensitive and a very worrying part. Due to malnutrition, we have seen anaemic patients and also the patients who have even lost their eye-sight. According to the present day prices of food items, about Rs. 130 per person per day are required. For a family of five, it comes to Rs. 650 per day and Rs. 19,500 per month. They cannot meet this expenditure. There should be an expert committee for the Adivasi parivar and for the ST families so that they can get a good one-day meal for them. The last point which I would like to make is this. The National Crime Records Bureau data shows that the atrocities against the STs have increased by 6.4 per cent in 2021. In Uttar Pradesh, the highest number of cases were recorded. Around 13,164 cases of atrocities against SCs were recorded. Violence against the Dalits and Adivasi women has also risen. We have seen the number of increasing rape cases with regard to SC/ST women. The rape cases against SC women account for 7.6 per cent and rape cases against ST women account for 15 per cent out of the total cases. We have seen in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan how Kartik Bhil, Dhanpat, Sampat Lal, and Viraj were murdered. So, we seek justice for these Adivasi people and ST people who have lost their lives due to the Government’s failure. Through the Bills which we are passing over here, justice should be given to them. Thank you, Sir
