Parliament Passes New Bills To Include Two Odisha Tribes In ST List

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2024 and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2024, which add numerous new communities to the Odisha Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, were approved by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The two bills seek to amend Andhra Pradesh’s and Odisha’s lists of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 in order to add the communities of Bondo Porja, Khond Porja, and Konda Savaras to the list of Scheduled Tribes for Andhra Pradesh.

The other Bill – the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2024 – seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Odisha. Under it, four communities of primitive tribes – Pauri Bhuyan, Chuktia Bhunjia, Bondo, and Mankidia – will be included in the ST list.