The data provided by the union is extremely worrying and raises concerns regarding the working of the said commission as the composition of the NCST prescribes 1 chairperson, 1 vice-chairperson and three full time members. According to the data, the said commission has only one working member at present as 4 out of its 5 posts are lying vacant. 

The answer can be viewed here:

During the winter session of 2022, a response by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the Lok Sabha had detailed the number of cases being registered in the NCST. As per the data, the following could be deduced:

• In the year 2021, the number of cases registered under NCST were 8,802. Out of these aforementioned cases, the cases charge sheeted were around 7,186. Surprisingly, only 548 cases were reached convictions. 
• In 2020, the number of cases registered under NCST were 8,272. Out of this, the cases charge sheeted were 6,484. Worryingly, the number of convictions that were delivered in 2020 were only 347, less than half of the convictions that took place in 2019. 
• In the year 2019, the number of cases registered under NCST were 7,570. Out of 7570, the cases charge sheeted were 5,918 and 741 cases were convicted. 

The table below shows the data from 2019 to 2021 regarding the cases dealt by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes – 

The answer can be viewed here:

The vacancies within the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) present a concerning scenario, with critical positions remaining unfilled for an extended period. This shortage impacts the commission’s ability to effectively address the myriad issues faced by Scheduled Tribes. As can be observed from the data on case registrations, charge sheets, and convictions from 2019 to 2021, a disconcerting trend is underscored which highlights the registration of a substantial number of cases with a significantly low conviction rate. Notably, as pointed above, there has been a drop in the number of convictions since 2019, the same time since post vacancies were generated in the commission. The widening gap between registered cases and successful convictions warrants a thorough investigation into the reasons behind this disparity. It is crucial that immediate attention is given to filling the vacant positions within the NCST to ensure the commission’s functionality and its crucial role in addressing the rights and welfare of Scheduled Tribes across the nation. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to the low conviction rates is imperative to rectify systemic issues hindering justice for these communities.

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The post Vacancies Plague NCST: 4 positions out of 5 lying vacant, no Chairperson since July 2023, no Vice-Chairperson since 2019 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The major objection is that PMSIM will merge two major and inherently distinct initiatives – the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Castes (DAPSC) and Scheduled Tribe Component (STC) – the ET reported. Problems faced by the SCs and STs are very specific, and need different approaches; putting both initiatives under one head would endanger this, These objections have been conveyed to the government. 

The brand-new PMSIM 

The Union government is soon to launch the new “PM Social Inclusion Mission for Welfare of SCs and STs” or PMSIM. The recently conceived flagship mission, budgeted at Rs 2.5 lakh crore, aims to implement targeted schemes for the socially and economically backward Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It will also fund schemes (including scholarships and skilling programmes) benefiting people in these communities, and habitations in villages with over 50% SC and ST population bypassing states.

The mission also aims to merge two existing, and vastly different initiatives set up for the benefit of the SC and ST communities. These are the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Castes (DAPSC) and the Scheduled Tribe Component (STC). Currently, the two programmes are separate. According to the ET report, they required 41 Central ministries and departments to allocate a certain proportion of Budget outlay (around 16.6% for Scheduled Castes and 8.6% for Scheduled Tribes) for targeted schemes. 

Two objections

This merging is one of the features of the PMSIM that the NCST has objected to, according to the ET report on May 11.

The newspaper quotes sources stating that the NCST has told the government that the problems of SCs and STs are “distinctly different in nature and require separate strategies for identification of gaps and prevailing disparities as well as providing administrative arrangements and solutions thereof are also likely to be different for both categories”. ET also reported that the NCST recommended that separate guidelines and strategies be adopted for STs. 

Another aspect of the PMSIM that the NCST has objected to is that it exempts some ministries and departments from allocating budgets for ST welfare schemes, details the report. These are the Ministry of Coal, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 

The NCST has objected to this exemption and has sought justification for this, according to the report. 

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The National Commsision for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has warned the IIT Mumbai and directed that it needs to sensitise itself about discrimination against Scheduled Caste students (Dalits), ensure their representation in students organisations, faculty formations and among counsellors with immediate effect. Besides, IIT Mumbai that prides itself on being an “institute of excellence” has been pulled up for an absence of mental health programmes for students.

The NCST orders came on a complaint filed by the Ambedkar Periyar Phile Study Circle (APPSC) which is a student collective which responds to issues impacting students within and outside IITB.

Most significantly, the NCST has directed the filing of an FIR against Ms Hima Anaredy, Head Counsellor, under the under Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and also provide the Commission with the detailed investigation report of the suicide case of the 1st year

The Commission had deplored the apathy of IIT-B in its response to the complaint and the fact that it continued to allow Ms Hima Anaredy to hold responsible posts even after it had found her to be casteist and insensitive towards tribal and other students.

Anti caste discrimination and harrassment pamphlets made by @AppscIITb which were distributed to new students during the campus orientation sessions in 2017 and 2018. We hope others can also start distributing such pamphlets against caste discrimination in their campuses. pic.twitter.com/QdqVCRRqBa

— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) July 7, 2022

The hearing of the Commission took place on March 22, 2023 and a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) has now been sent to the Institute for implementation and action within 15 days. The complaint had been filed by the student’s complaint on June 16, 2022. Since then, another tragic death by suicide of a student at IIT-B, Darshan Solanki, has taken place.

Directives of NCST to Director, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai in the ATR

i. To register an FIR against Ms Hima Anaredy under Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

ii. To ensure recruitment of expert counsellors with an ST background in Student Welfare Centre to encourage and repose the faith of ST students and to make mental healthcare facilities more approachable for them.

iii. To ensure that a faculty counsellor with an ST background is available on the campus for the ST students

iv. To appoint a Convener with an ST background in the SC/ST Cell in addition to the existing two conveners of SC and General background

v.  To provide a detailed report with statistics pertaining to the composition of faculties, students and other staff members

vi. To provide a detailed report with statistics pertaining to the composition of the SWC and composition of complaints dealt with by SWC.

vii. To sensitise the campus on the issue of caste-related harassment and conduct conferences and workshops in the first 3-6 months of the commencement of every academic year

viii.  To encourage the SC/ST/OBC students enrolled in Master’s and Doctorate programmes to apply for teaching posts in the institute

ix.  To provide a detailed investigation report of the suicide case of the 1st year student Darshan Solanki

According to the ATR that is available in the public domain, the NCST commission has held that

“The present case relates to apartheid, lack of proper counselling for the SC/ST students of IIT, Bombay. The petitioner allege that IIT Bombay has a Students Welfare Centre (SWC). However, it has no SC/ST Counsellor, the head counsellor Ms Hima Anaredy is brazenly vocal about her casteist and anti-reservation views that make SC/ST students uncomfortable about approaching her and the alumni initiative for mental health services named “Bandhu” lacks caste based mental health services.

“The petitioners through their representation to the Commission demanded termination of head counsellor Ms Hima Anaredy, recruitment of expert counsellors who are trained to handle caste-based issues, recruitment of professional counsellors with SC/ST/OBC background and organisation of compulsory caste sensitization programs and workshops for employees, faculties and students.

“Considering the violation of rights of the tribal students as grave and gigantic in nature, the Commission issued Notice dated November 11, 2022 to the Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India and notice dated January 30, 2023 to the Director, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai seeking reply from the concerned officials within 15 days.

“A reply dated February 1.2,2023 was received by the Commission from the Director, IIT

Bombay, Powai, Mumbai stating that the notice dated November 1, 2022 addressed to the Ministry of Education was forwarded to Director, IIT Bombay, wherein it was stated that a number of steps are being taken to help all students. Mandatory sensitization course on caste related issues (especially SC/ST) has been planned by SC/ST student cell, manpower has been recruited and course content is under preparation.

“The Bandhu self-help website, developed by SWC in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences does not deal with caste related issues. These issues are handled by SC/ST Cell. Relevant information will also be posted on Bandhu website. An interaction Session between SWC Counsellors and Mariwala Health Initiative (external agency) has already begun and is an ongoing process. Training of student mentors on affirmative counselling for marginalized communities including SC/ST Cell has been done by SC/ST Cell with support from Mariwala Health Initiative in July, 2022. The head Counsellor, Ms Hima Anaredy was asked to take down the casteist post on her social media page and warned against the posts in the future. It was submitted that she has been working in SC/ST cell since April 2022 on a joint survey on mental health.

“As a follow up to the letter of Ministry of Education dated December 2.12, 2022, it was submitted by IIT Bombay that the authorities are in the process of recruiting one SC and one ST Student Counsellor from the available roster.

“The Commission found the reply highly unsatisfactory and hence, the Commission issued Summons to the Director, IIT Bombay, Powai Mumbai to appear for a hearing before the Commission on February 22, 2023.

“During the course of hearing, the Commission asked the Petitioners who appeared in person and through video conferencing about the facts of the case as on date. They repeated and re-iterated their earlier submissions and submitted an additional document with supplementary information. They added that a representation was first sent to the Director, IIT Bombay on January 31, 2022. A survey was also conducted in May/June, 2022 by the petitioner to analyse the mental health status of SC/ST students. However, most SC/ST students refused to participate stating they have lost faith in the system, many students stated they were going through extreme stress due to caste based harassment and eight students stated that they felt suicidal. This information was also submitted to the authorities but no action was taken by them.

“It was also submitted that there is no proper System for grievance redressal and information about the same is not available to students. There is a mentorship programme in IIT Bombay but discrimination is also rampant therein. The authorities are flouting the reservation norms and not recruiting SC/ST candidates in the faculty. It all culminated in the suicide of a first year SC student Mr Darshan Solanki on February 12, 2023.

“In response, the authorities submitted that police investigation is under process in the tragic death of Mr Darshan Solanki and the report is awaited. It was submitted that a psychometric test is conducted at the beginning of each year to assess the mental well-being of the students. It was also submitted that another online platform namely “Your Dost” is available for students to address their mental health issues 24X7. They denied flouting reservation norms and stated that their faculty and students have ample representation from the SC/ST community.

“The authorities agreed that prima facie it appears from the social media post and the conduct of the head counsellor Ms Hima Anaredy that she is anti-tribal. It was submitted that she continues to work in IIT Bombay however, she has been removed from SWC.

“The commission takes a very serious view of the reply which has been found to be incorrect during the course of the sitting. It has been categorically accepted by the Director that the averment made in the reply is incorrect so far as it is concerned with the involvement and research work of Ms Hima Anaredy in the SC/ST Cell.

It is to be seen now, how one of India’s premier and much applauded institutes of higher learning responds to this sharp rebuke from the NCST Commission and whether some measure of accountability will ensure the security, safety and well-being of all Indian students.

The NCST’s ATR to IITB may be read here:

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The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on February 22 asked the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay why it allowed a counsellor with what the Commission has termed distinctly “casteist sentiment” to continue working with the SC/ST Cell on the campus, as the panel continued its investigation into complaints of the institute lacking mental health support for SC/ST students. 

The institute has been defending serious charges that its alleged failure to create safe spaces for marginalised students led to the alleged suicide of a 18-year-old Dalit student, Darshan Solanki, on February 12. 

Interestingly, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student body, had in 2022 itself made serious complaints to the NCST that the head counsellor at the Student Wellness Centre (SWC) on the Mumbai campus had signed a public petition to end caste-based reservations and posted about details on social media. The students highlighted that this revelation significantly discouraged SC/ST students from visiting the SWC. 

The institute, responding to the NCST’s investigation, said the counsellor had been warned about avoiding any such personal posts on social media and immediately asked to take down the post in question. However, IIT-Bombay had added that the counsellor continued to work with the SC/ST Cell of the institute and the SWC. 

On Wednesday, February 22, when Director Subhasis Chaudhuri and other officials of the IIT-B appeared before the commission, the NCST queried, “Is it wise to let a person who is so vocal about her views on reservation and her casteist sentiment to work in the SC/ST Cell?”

The commission members said, “Not only has she been allowed to continue her employment, she has been allowed to continue working in the SC/ST Cell despite the students raising complaints that her remarks makes the SC/ST students feel intimidated and uncomfortable to approach her, “ detailed the Hindu.

The commission asked the institute officials what other fora the students could approach in such a scenario.  

Once the commission took cognisance of the matter, the Union Ministry of Education got in touch with the institute and also strongly recommended that it hire SC and ST student counsellors to address the need for affirmative counselling for students from marginalised communities.  The institute then decided to hire SC,ST student counsellors, prepare a caste-sensitisation course (to be made mandatory for all), and train existing counsellors in affirmative counselling for marginalised communities. The institute said it also took “corrective measures” to sensitise all employees about caste-related issues.

Not satisfied with the response of such a premier institute, the ST Commission on Wednesday also asked the institute officials to provide a deadline for when the caste-sensitisation course would be finalised and by when it would be started. It also asked the institute about why Bandhu, an alternative mental health support system set up by the alumni, did not address issues of caste-related mental health problems faced by the students. 

The panel also sought to know exactly what corrective measures had been taken to sensitise all on campus. It gave the institute 30 days to submit a report explaining these aspects. 

House panel to send team to IIT-B

In a separate but related development, some officials of the institute along with those from the Education Ministry on Wednesday also appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, where the student’s death was discussed in detail. 

Thete have been further developments in this connection, too! The parliamentary committee is now also mulling sending a team to IIT-Bombay for a detailed investigation into the death, the circumstances surrounding it, and the general treatment of SC/ST students and staffers on the premises, The Hindu has reportedly learnt. 

“It also came up that Solanki’s body was sent for post-mortem without explicit permission from his family. The institute said that it had asked the police to inform and seek consent of his parents but it was not done. The committee will look into this issue as well. This is a very serious issue,” a member of the parliamentary panel said. 

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The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) through its Chairman Harsh Chouhan has cemented its stand against the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 reiterating that the rules are violative of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change insists that these concerns are not legally tenable.

While speaking to The Hindu, Chouhan said, “The commission’s stand will be the same. It is the commission’s duty to intervene and recommend corrective measures whenever any rules run the risk of violating rights of tribespeople. This we will continue to do.”

Last September, the NCST Chairman wrote to the Environment Ministry asking it to put the rules on hold for the rules have taken away rights of Scheduled Tribes to consent to any diversion project in forest areas.

 About the Rules

The Forest Conservation Act, 1982 is an act to provide for the conservation of forests. The act states that state governments cannot pass any order, except with the prior approval of the central government, to take away the tag of reserve forest from any forest area; to permit the usage of forest area for non-forest purposes; to assign any portion of forest land to non-governmental organisations including corporates; to clear of the forest land from the naturally grown trees for the purposes of reafforestaton.

The FC Rules, 2022 state that the state government may pass an order, after the final approval from the Central Government, for de-reservation or diversion or assignment of forest land on lease etc. This means, neither Gram Sabha consent is required to be obtained before the grant of the In- principle approval, nor is it necessary for the collector to oversee the process of recognition and vesting of individual claims of forest rights before the grant of In Principle approval. The FC Rules, 2022 snatch away the participatory rights of the forest dwellers by making them simple bystanders to a process that affects their land and forest rights, their culture and livelihood. The issue of Gram Sabhas and FRA, according to the new rules, comes into play only after a final approval has been given by the Central Government.

The NCST pointed out that even before the Rules, there were violations in many cases. Between 2009 and 2018, of the 128 applications for forest diversion for mining, 74 were cleared at the Stage 2 and 46 at the Stage 1 and none of the rejections were based on FRA non-compliance; further in 14 cases, certificates that showed completion of FRA process were issued “in violation of ground realities”. Also, the Community Forest Resources process was also not completed.

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The post NCST firm on its stand, Forest Conservation Rules violate Forest Rights appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On February 8, 2021, the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Ms. Renuka Singh Saruta, in her response, provided details of the assigned strength and vacant positions in the headquarters and regional offices of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).

Out of the assigned strength of 54 positions in the headquarters of New Delhi, 32 have been filled and the remaining 22 are vacant. In the regional offices of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the vacancies stand at 12 in Bhopal, 9 in Bhubaneswar, 13 in Jaipur, 6 in Raipur, 4 in Ranchi and 8 in Shillong. In total, out of 124 assigned positions across New Delhi and 6 regional offices, only 50 positions have been filled.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the former Minister of Women, Family, Maternity and Child Welfare and Tourism (Uttar Pradesh) also asked the Centre to provide the State-wise details of cases dealt with by the National Commission during each of the last three years along with the current status of such cases.

In the period between 2019 and 2020, out of 1,560 total cases from all States and Union Territories, 1,225 cases are under process i.e., those cases already taken up with the concerned authorities but not yet finally resolved/closed. Taking the period from 2017 to 2020 into consideration, the maximum number of pending cases arise between 2019-2020.

In terms of complaints related to atrocities against the Scheduled Tribe, Rajasthan has consecutively topped the chart for two years with 353 cases in 2018 and 233 cases in 2019. In the year 2018 and 2019, the total number of cases filed with the NCST stood at 2,874 and 934 cases were pending. Lastly, from 2017-2018, a total number of 1,786 cases were filed from all States/UTs and pending cases stood at 972.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs also furnished information on the total expenditure incurred by the National Commission in Delhi and the above mentioned six regional offices. For the year 2019-2020, the allocation of funds stood at Rs. 16,57,00,000 and the expenditure was calculated to be around Rs. 12, 25,00,000.

Recently, in January 2021, the Supreme Court had issued notice on a plea seeking appointment of full time Chairman and other members to National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (NCSC and NCST). The petition filed by an NGO called People’s Charioteer Organization had stated that due to these vacancies, these commissions have not provided any relief to SC-ST communities.

Further they have even failed to publish their annual reports from time to time. The last Annual report of the NCSC that is publicly available is for the year 2016-17 and for NCST the latest available Annual report is for the year 2015-16.

The answer may be read here: 

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