Tanisha Rana
Published on: August 29, 2022 at 21:27 IST
On Friday, the Supreme Court in a PIL seeking directions to fill up the vacancies in the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has sought the response of the Centre.
The PIL has been filed by Advocate HM Singh. A Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and JK Maheshwari have issued notice to the Centre in this matter.
Advocate Ranbir Singh Yadav had filed the petition. He stated that the posts of Vice-Chairperson and two members have been vacant for more than a year now. This has left the commission non-functioning given the lack of quorum.
It was submitted, “The public at large and scheduled tribes in particular are deprived of the benefits of the commission and there is no body hence to advise the Centre towards upliftment of tribals.”
The petition stated that, their grievances have been unheard since February 2021 when the vacancies arose. It also pointed out that, since 2018, annual reports have also not been filed.
The petition stated, “Every day [of the vacancy] would add to the agony of the Scheduled Tribes who are denied direct participation in the main stream”, the plea states, even as the government has not put in “any efforts to full-fill its duty cast by the constitution and [is] sleeping over the matter of appointment.”
Further, it was pointed out in the petition that the head office of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is in Delhi, where a secretary and other staff members have been appointed to look after its functioning. It was contended that these posts have now been rendered useless and thus, now it is a waste of public money.