NEW DELHI: In a significant move, the Centre on Monday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Though it has been a long drawn demand of the ST communities, no seats were reserved for tribals in the 40-member state Assembly till now. According to estimates, the ST population in Goa accounts for 1.5 lakhs. The introduction of the Bill comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict on allowing states to create sub-categorisation within the Scheduled caste (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).The bill ‘Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024’, will empower the census commissioner to notify the population of STs in Goa.Based on the numbers, the Election Commission (EC) will amend the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, to pave the way for ST reservation in the Assembly. The EC will take into consideration the revised population figures of STs and readjust the legislative Assembly constituency once the Bill becomes a law.The proposal to bring the Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet in March this year, days before the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections was announced on March 16.The ST community has been demanding that four out of the 40 seats in Goa be reserved for it. As of now, one seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes in the BJP- ruled state.‘ST population in Goa accounts for 1.5 lakhs’According to estimates, the ST population in Goa accounts for 1.5 lakhs. The introduction of the Bill comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court verdict on allowing states to create sub-categorisation within the SCs and STs.
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