Shillong, Oct 4: A petition to Rajya Sabha MP James PK Sangma has reiterated a long-pending demand for amendments to Articles 338 and 338A of the Constitution, which deal with the National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The amendments will facilitate a fixed time limit for placing reports of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) before the Parliament, according to the petitioner John F Kharshiing, Co-Chairman of the Meghalaya State Planning Board and Chairman of the Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya.
Kharshiing pointed out that several NCST reports continue to be listed as “Yet to be laid” before one or both Houses of Parliament.
He urged Sangma to take up the long-pending demand aimed at ensuring that reports of the NCST, along with the government’s Action Taken Reports, are placed before Parliament within a prescribed period.
The petition referred to the recommendations of the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in its 1997-98 report.
The commission had recommended that its reports be placed before both Houses of Parliament within three months of being submitted to the President, while the Action Taken Report should be tabled within six months.
Kharshiing said the issue has been raised repeatedly by tribal organisations and representatives over the years, including through representations made in 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Sangma assured him that he would seek details on the matter and its present status and revert.
