The Union government is in favour of including the Irulas of Union Territory of Puducherry in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
The Centre has sent the proposal in this regard to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (ST) for final approval, said Rameshwar Oraon, Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
A three-member team led by Dr. Oraon is on a three-day visit to Puducherry and Karaikal to study the proposal of the Puducherry government for identification of five communities including Irular, Kattunayakan, Malaikuruvan, Yerukkula and Kuruman as Scheduled Tribes.
“A majority of Irulas are living in huts in very bad conditions. The commission is of the view that every Irula should get a house under the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY). The commission will hold discussions with officials of the Puducherry government about the economic plight of the Irulas and the facilities being provided to them. The Centre has been providing a lot of funds and it needs to be ascertained whether it is spent or not. The Irulas come under Below Poverty Line (BPL) category and should be provided with all the facilities,” Mr. Oraon told The Hindu .
He said that the Irulas had been neglected all these years and the Puducherry government had rightly declared them as a backward tribe.
Their demand had been pending for 32 years and now they are being heard. The recommendation of the Puducherry government was forwarded to the Registrar General of India which, in turn, was sent to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe. The commission would study the proposal and submit its final report along with the recommendations to the Union government. The Union government has agreed on the final recommendations in most of the cases and the proposal will be subsequently sent for notification by the President, he said.
Members of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes would visit Irula habitations in Karaikal on Tuesday and hold discussions with officials at a meeting here on September 3.
Earlier, the members of the commission visited areas inhabited by Irulas in Thimmanayakanpalayam and Vadhanoor. The members inspected a few hutments of Irulas and studied their traits and other activities.
