The newly set up commission to examine the demand for inclusion of some communities in Scheduled Tribe got down to work here on Wednesday by eliciting views of academics in the matter. The whole idea is to extend 12 per cent reservation to STs in keeping with the poll promise made by the TRS government.
The three-member commission headed by retired IAS officer S. Chellappa interacted with professors of anthropology, sociology, political science and economics drawn from different universities to look into the representations made by the Valmiki Boya and Khaithi Lambada communities for their inclusion among STs. The commission is tasked with the job of preparing a comprehensive report on the relative increase of ST population in Telangana and their socio-economic backwardness.
Tribal Welfare Minister A. Chandulal, who inaugurated a brainstorming session, said the two communities were very backward and the commission would look into various indicators like health, education and income levels while deciding on their inclusion into ST community. The commission has already visited Mahabubnagar. In the coming days, it would tour Nizamabad and other parts of the State. Within six months, it would submit its report. “We will approve it in the Assembly and then send to the Government of India for its approval,” the Minister said.
Dr. Chellappa said the Valmiki Boya community was mostly concentrated in Mahabubnagar district, while the Khaithi Lambadas were found in Nizamabad, Adilabad and parts of Karimnagar. As per the 2011 census, the total tribal population in the State stood at 9.34 per cent and as per the latest Samagra Kutumba Survey it touched 9.98 per cent.
Panel members to tour Nizamabad and other parts of the State and submit the report within six months
