Rajya Sabha passes bill according ST status to Hattee community; people rejoice

Shimla: After the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved a measure to give the Hattee community in the Trans-Giri region of Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe status, members of the tribe were ecstatic.

Surendra Hindustani, a member of the Hattee Committee, expressed his gratitude to the government for helping the community obtain Scheduled Tribe status after years of effort, saying that Amit Shah, the union's minister of the interior has kept his word.

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, was passed in the Upper House of Parliament by voice vote. The Lok Sabha cleared the bill in December.

The bill follows the recommendations of the Himachal Pradesh government that the Hattee community be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in respect of the state.

The passage of the bill, which will benefit over three lakh people in about 150 panchayats in the Sirmaur district, fulfils a 50-year demand of the people of the Trans-Giri area.

Leaders of the Hattee Committee thanked the Centre for accepting their long-pending demand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah had assured the committee that its demand would be met, Hindustani said.

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said the Congress only made promises to get votes but never seriously persuaded the matter and party-led governments at the Centre never considered the demand.

Mahendra Dharmani and Baldev Tomar, spokespersons for the BJP’s Himachal Pradesh unit, also hit out at the Congress for denying Scheduled Tribe status to the community.

Once the bill gets the President’s nod, members of the Hattee community will be entitled to all benefits which are provided to the Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

With PTI inputs