According to NorthEast today, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on Monday said Meghalaya government will have to formulate a law barring non-tribals taking part in district council polls.
Oram, who is on a two-day visit to Meghalaya, said non-tribals should not be allowed to vote in district council election and added “the State Government will have to take a decision on the matter”.
The Union minister’s statement assumes significance in view of the recent protest against participation of non-tribals in the GHADC polls held on Monday. Oram visited three remote project sites where the Tribal Affairs Ministry is providing funds in East Khasi Hills district.
He also visited Ramkrishana Mission, Seng Khasi School. He also visited the Nongkrem youth development centre .
With close to 1000 tribes in the country seeking their inclusion in the ST (Scheduled Tribe) category, Jual Oram said the ministry has proposed that demands for inclusion in Scheduled Tribe category by tribes should be decided within a timeframe of six months.
ram said the proposals to decide on ST demand in a time-bound manner, are being sent to the Union Cabinet for approval. “The guidelines to change the current norms for inclusion in the ST category of tribes are being changed. One of the major changes is that such demands should be decided within six months,” the Union Minister said.
Currently, there are about five criteria that are looked into before granting ST status to a particular tribe and one of them being recommendation of the State Government. “The process of revision earlier used to take time. Now when these new guidelines are framed and approved, demands would be decided within six months irrespective of the State Government’s recommendation,” Oram added.