National Commission of Schedule Tribes (NCST)

In News 

• Recently in Parliament, the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs informed that the National Commission of Schedule Tribes is functioning with less than 50% of its approved strength.

National Commission of Schedule Tribes (NCST)

• Background:
  • The NCST was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
  • By this amendment, the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions namely:
    • The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
    • The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)
• Composition
  • The NCST panel has one chairperson, one vice-chairperson, and three members (two out of VC, and the members should be from the ST community). At least one member should be a woman.
  • The Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, and the other Members hold office for a term of 3 years.
  • The members are only eligible for appointments for up to two terms.
  • The President appoints the members by warrant under his hand and seal.
• Powers and Functions
  • The Commission is vested with all the powers of a civil court while investigating any matter on the inquiry of any complaint relating to deprivation of rights and safeguards for Scheduled Tribes.
  • To investigate & monitor matters relating to Safeguards provided for STs under the Constitution or under other laws or under Govt. Order, to evaluate the working of such Safeguards.
  • To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Tribes.
  • To participate and advise on the planning process of socioeconomic development of the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State.
  • To present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards.

Issues with NCST

• Appointments:
  • Lack of Appointment: It just has a chairperson and one member with all other posts empty, including that of the mandatory ST member.
  • As per parliament till 31st January 2023, against the total sanctioned posts of 124, 54 posts are filled and the vacant posts are 70.
  • The Group A posts in the NCST are filled by the Ministry, while the Group B and C posts are the NCST’s responsibility.
  • Lack of Candidates: In the recruitment process, the eligibility bar is set too high and the rules are impromptu changed. 
• Pending Reports: 
  • The commission has been dysfunctional for the last five years and has not delivered a single report to Parliament.
  • As per the Commission, in the financial year 2021-22, it has met only four times. Its rate of pendency of resolution of complaints and cases that it receives is also close to 50 percent.
• Budgetary Constraints:
  • The Commission does not have a separate Budget Head to advance its Demand for Grants in a realistic manner.

Way Ahead

• The Commission needs to function as per the constitutional authority allotted to it. It should work for the welfare of STs and prevent the exploitation of Schedule tribes.
• The pending vacancies should be immediately filled with the mandatory posts to be filled at the earliest for the smooth functioning of the commission.
• The reports which have not been tabled in parliament needed to be tabled and their recommendations be debated.
• The budgetary allocation to the commission needed to be reviewed accordingly so that the functioning of the constitutional body is not impacted  due to lack of funds.

Source: The Hindu