The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday issued a notification for the establishment of a special Scheduled Tribe(ST) Commission in the State. The notification was issued after the State Government received approval from the Centre to set it up. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister and State Minister for Tribal Welfare Pamula Pushpa Srivani said, “We have been fighting for a special ST Commission for many years. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the promise given to the tribals would be fulfilled and the ST Commission has been brought in to protect the rights of the scheduled tribes. She expressed her gratitude and said that the tribal communities in the State would be indebted to the Chief Minister. The YS Jagan-led Government aims to focus on the welfare and upliftment of STs in the state by allocating special funds and a separate ST Commission would work towards that.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly last year had passed two Bills that enable setting up of separate Commissions for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).State Minister for Tribal Welfare Pushpa Srivani had tabled the Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Scheduled Tribes Bill that allows setting up of a separate Commissions to safeguard the interests of STs. Both the Bills were passed by voice vote.
The Bill was necessitated after the State has decided to bifurcate the existing Andhra Pradesh State Commission for SCs and STs into two separate commissions.
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