GUWAHATI, Jan 7 – Lack of cooperation from the State governments has hampered the functioning of the National Commission for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribe (NCSC&ST) in the region, as several departments of the Assam Government involved in the affairs of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), have not responded to the directives and queries of the National Commission for the last two-three years. Things have come to such a pass that the NCSC&ST field office here does not even have the latest data on the SC and ST population in the State. “The State Government is not supplying us precise data,” sources here complain. The Guwahati field office looks after the affairs of SCs and STs in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
The NCSC&ST has been constituted under Article 338 of the Constitution to oversee the implementation of various safeguards provided to the SCs and STs under the Constitution and through Presidential directives, legal and other measures. The Commission has a chairman, vice-chairman and five fulltime members. Currently, Tapir Gao from Arunachal Pradesh is the only representative from the North-east to the Commission. At the moment, the Guwahati office of the Commission is mostly dealing with complaints regarding service matters. Till last November, there were about 60 such complaints in Assam in 2002. Up to 40 complaints had been resolved. Apart from that, there were 20-odd complaints pertaining to land and other miscellaneous matters in the State. Thankfully, there were no complaints of atrocities on SCs and STs in the State last year.
The NCSC&ST can participate and advice in the planning process of socio-economic development of the SCs and STs and evaluate the progress of their development. It can make such reports and recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the STs and SCs. Though the Commission does not sanction any funds for SCs and STs, it has the power to monitor the use of the funds from other sources, the sources say. Large sums meant for SC and ST development are being diverted to other expenses in Assam. But despite having the powers of a civil court, the NCSC&ST has done little to rein in the errant State government departments in Assam, the sources say. That is largely because of the politicisation of the functioning of the Commission, the sources reveal.
According to the sources, the last review meeting on the SCs and STs in Assam was held way back in 1999. In Manipur, the last review was in December 2000, they say. There are indications now that a State-level review meeting in Assam may be held in March. The Centre too has been guilty of neglecting the NCSC&ST. Till 1999 State chapters were published annually. The last report of the Commission was tabled in Parliament in 1997-98, the sources say. Since then, the reports have been religiously submitted to the President but were never tabled in the Parliament. “It shows the lack of interest of the Centre”, the sources say. The work of the Commission is also in a limbo because of the uncertainty over the proposal to bifurcate the commission, with two separate bodies for the SCs and the STs respectively.
The NCSC&ST is also plagued by a shortfall in staff with almost 100 vacancies lying vacant for years, the sources say. The Commission’s budget is Rs 7 crore a year.