Unfilled Posts Mean Unheeded Tribal Rights in India

Newsreel Asia Insight #156
March 10, 2024

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) in India has been without a Chairperson since Harsh Chouhan resigned in June 2023, eight months before his term was due to end. The positions of Vice-Chairperson and three other members are also vacant, leaving all five key posts of the NCST unfilled.

“These positions are vacant at a time when the NCST has been considering a number of important issues related to the implementation of protective laws, the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, in particular,” a member of a working group under NCST constituted by Chouhan told The Frontline.

The Frontline journalist submitted an RTI application to the President’s Secretariat, requesting details of nominees for the NCST Chairperson role and the status of their finalisation. The query was redirected to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which responded that no information was available on either matter.

The member mentioned that the NCST had been preparing reports containing critical information, adding that the government is proceeding with caution, aware that an operational NCST could lead to the disclosure of this information.

Chouhan had voiced serious concerns about recent changes to India’s forest laws, made by the Union environment ministry in June 2022 and December 2023. The changes had been slammed for leaning towards corporate interests at the expense of forest communities.

Chouhan, in his communication with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, warned that the new rules could exacerbate historical injustices and weaken the Forest Rights Act (FRA), according to Newslaundry, which said he highlighted the ministry’s failure to consult the NCST on these changes, which deeply affect the lives and rights of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers.

Despite Chouhan’s detailed objections, Yadav’s response was curt and dismissive, insisting the amendments didn’t interfere with the FRA. Following this exchange, Chouhan resigned in June 2023, eight months before his term was due to end, amid apparent disagreements with the ministry over these regulations.

The vacancies at the NCST have raised concerns among activists and former officials, who criticise the government for neglecting the rights and welfare of tribal communities.

This situation persists despite the commission’s significant role in addressing issues related to protective laws for Scheduled Tribes, including the FRA. The NCST, a constitutional body under Article 338, is tasked with assessing the implementation of the FRA and other protective laws for Scheduled Tribes.

The process of appointing new members to the NCST involves recommendations from various groups and final approval by the President of India, but no nominations have been made public, and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has not provided information on the appointment process.

The absence of a functional NCST is seen as a significant setback for tribal rights in India.

The Commission’s website says on its home page: “The framers of the Constitution took note of the fact that certain communities in the country were suffering from extreme social, educational and economic backwardness arising out of age-old practice of untouchability and certain others on account of this primitive agricultural practices, lack of infrastructure facilities and geographical isolation, and who need special consideration for safeguarding their interests and for their accelerated socio-economic development.”

“It shows the kind of importance the government gives to the most marginalised sections of society,” the Frontline quoted K.C. Deo, former Union Minister at the Tribal Affairs Ministry, as saying. “The post of the NCST Chairman should not be vacant even for a day.”