Goa Legislative Assembly to Introduce Reservation Bill for Scheduled Tribes

The Indian government will introduce the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha, to reserve seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the Goa Legislative Assembly. The Bill aims to empower the census commissioner to notify the population of STs in Goa and enable the Election Commission to amend constituency orders accordingly.

The government is set to introduce a new Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday to provide reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the Goa Legislative Assembly.

Currently, the ST community does not have any reserved seats in the state's assembly, prompting demands for representation.

Codenamed the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2024, the legislation has been listed among government business for the remaining part of the Parliament's Monsoon Session, which will end on August 12. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce the Bill in the Lok Sabha, and it is also listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill aims to authorize the census commissioner to notify the population of STs in Goa. Following this, the Election Commission (EC) will amend the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, to facilitate ST reservation in the 40-member Goa assembly.

Once the Bill becomes law, the EC will consider revised population figures of STs to readjust assembly constituencies. The proposal was approved by the Union Cabinet in March this year, just before the election schedule was announced on March 16.

Currently, no seats in the 40-member Goa assembly are reserved for STs, although one seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes. The ST community, with an estimated population of 1.5 lakh in Goa, has been advocating for the reservation of four out of 40 seats.

(With inputs from agencies.)