Tribals in Rajasthan seek morepanchayats in scheduled areas

This will facilitate control over minerals, forest produce

The tribal outfits in Rajasthan have demanded inclusion of over 165 village panchayats of seven districts in the scheduled areas under the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) to facilitate the control of local communities over minor minerals and minor forest produce as well as development activities in the region. It will also ensure statutory protection of the tribal population. On the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Monday, the tribal groups said the population of Scheduled Tribes in these panchayats had crossed 50%, making them eligible to be declared as scheduled areas. Consequently, the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, will apply to these areas. The scheduled areas at present comprise 5,697 villages in southern Rajasthan, having a tribal population of more than 50%, as notified in 2018. As per the 2011 Census, the total population of scheduled areas was 64.63 lakh, in which the tribals were 45.57 lakh, making up 70.43% of the population.