Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said the matter of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of the state would be finalised without affecting the rights and privileges of the existing ST communities.
The communities that are proposed to be accorded ST status are Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutiya, Matak, Moran and the 36 tea tribes, who form a sizeable chunk of the state’s population.
A Group of Ministers (GoM) was formed to take the matter forward and the delegation should engage in consultations with the intelligentsia and come forth with inputs that were technically, legally and constitutionally sound, Sonowal said.
All Koch-Rajbongshi Student Union leaders Biswajit Roy and Hitesh Barman expressed satisfaction for according ST status to the six communities. (PTI)
