Aiming to woo the crucial tribal vote represented by 28 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in poll-bound Gujarat, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised implementation of the Constitution’s Fifth Schedule and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, a bone of contention of the Opposition parties.
Promising to involve the Adivasis more proactively in decisions related to them, Kejriwal stated that Gujarat’s tribal advisory committee would be headed by a person from the community instead of the chief minister as of now.
Claiming that the Congress party was nowhere in the picture, he said the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled for this year-end would be a straight fight between the ruling BJP and the AAP.
Kejriwal told reporters in Vadodara ahead of a rally in tribal-dominated Chhota Udepur district that if AAP came to power in Gujarat, each tribal village will get a good government school and a “mohalla clinic”.
"Multi-speciality hospitals will also be set up in the region for free treatment of tribals," said the Delhi CM.
He also promised simplification of the caste certificate issuance process and houses to those who do not own one. The government will also connect tribal villages with roads, he said.
The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with provisions related to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes, while the PESA Act was enacted by Parliament in 1996 to ensure self-governance for people living in scheduled areas.
The States were required to formulate rules for the effective implementation of the Act to strengthen gram sabhas in scheduled areas.
Kejriwal said despite 75 years of independence, tribals have remained backward.
“They are remembered before elections and have only been exploited by all. The Constitution provides for a separate system for tribals because the community has a different culture and is very backward,” he said.
“We will implement provisions of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution word to word. We will also strictly implement the PESA Act which says no government can take action in a tribal area without the gram sabha’s consent,” he said.
