Srinagar Dec 15 (KNS): The Member of Parliament, Hasnain Masoodi today said in the Parliament that inclusion of a community in ST list was not enough unless meaningful steps were taken to ameliorate lot of the Community and ensure its protection and overall welfare.

Masoodi was participating in debate on The Constitution ( Schedule Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill proposes to include Narikorawan and Kurivikaran communities from Tamil Nadu in ST list by amending the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

Masoodi said that addition of a community should not be a mere cosmetic exercise undertaken for political reasons but the purpose must be to take result oriented measures for welfare and empowerment of the community. Masoodi said that ST community for historical reasons has lagged behind in the race of development and effort must be made to make them part of the race. 

Masoodi referring to the plight of the ST community in Jammu and Kashmir pointed out that the community continues to have less than required access to healthcare, education and other amenities of life. The number of school dropout cases at primary and pre -matric level, malnutrition cases and anaemia cases detected in the community reportedly exceed the overall average. 

He said that though 1521 teaching centres have been set up way back in 2005-7 for education of the children of migratory population that migrates with their livestock from Jammu to Kashmir in summer and return to Jammu in winter yet the 2217 teachers engaged more than a decade back, get a meagre honorarium in the name of salary, are laid off at the end of the season and are endlessly waiting for their regularisation. The teachers denied regularisation and due salary for such a long time are likely to lose initiative and commitment to the cause and the ultimate sufferer would be the students enrolled in the schools for migratory population. He requested the Minister present in the House, to take steps for their regularisation. 

Masoodi asked for a change in approach and mindset. He recalled the early morning assault on a small habitation of the Community in outskirts of Jammu by the authorities in the name of demolition of unauthorised constructions,  depicting a mindset that the Community should be confined to forests and not allowed to live even in peripheries of towns.  He wondered whether steps for its rehabilitation have been taken till date.

Masoodi also expressed surprise that the government pretending to be concerned about welfare of the ST community has slashed down allocations on pre- matric and National Scholarships for the Community.(KNS)