NAGPUR (Maharashtra, India): The All India Tribal Employees Federation has demanded that the tribal-majority areas in Parseoni and Ramtek tehsils of Nagpur district of Maharashtra should be included in Scheduled Areas and that the necessary process for such inclusion be started.
The demand was made by the Federation in a memorandum submitted to Resident Deputy Collector Anup Khande on Saturday. The memorandum was submitted by a delegation of the Federation.
The memorandum pointed out that many villages in Parseoni and Ramtek tehsils are tribal-majority villages, are located in remote and hilly areas, and are economically backward. Besides, these villages also have unique culture that they residents have conserved, the memorandum said.
A majority of the residents of these villages belong to tribal communities, and their lifestyles, livelihoods, traditions and social structure are in accordance with the criteria decided for Scheduled Areas, it said. However, since these villages have not yet been included in Scheduled Areas, the residents do not fully receive the connected benefits like the provisions under Schedule V of the Constitution, the provisions under the Provisions of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and protective rights, the memorandum also said.
As a result, these residents are facing re restrictions on their all-round development, opportunity for self-governance and their rights on natural resources, it also said.
Under Article 244 (1) and Schedule V of the Constitution, the government has the authority to include a tribal-majority area under Scheduled Area, the memorandum pointed out. It was necessary that the District Collector’s office conduct a detailed study and submit a proposal for the same, the memorandum said, adding that a meeting should be convened for this purpose.
The delegation consisted of President of the federation Prof. Madhukar Uike, General Secretary Vijay Kokode, Shrikant Malwi, Dhanraj Tumdal and Duryodhan Kodape.
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