LS passes bill for quota for STs in Goa assembly
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to pave the way for Goa to have an scheduled tribes (ST) quota in the state elections for the first time. While Goa will likely see four reserved ST seats by the time it next goes to polls in 2027, the bill also empowers the Election Commission to effect delimitation and readjust constituencies to give proper representation to STs in the legislative assembly.
This was the first bill passed in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, which has been rocked by protests by the INDIA bloc since it began. Chief minister Pramod Sawant informed the House about the passing of the bill, which was moved by Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who said that the bill was earlier debated with the participation of all parties. It now has to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
'Heartfelt thanks and congratulations to Union govt led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the historic passage of the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Goa Assembly Constituencies Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha,' said Sawant.
'This is a success of BJP govt's persistent efforts and reflects Modi govt's commitment to inclusive governance and tribal empowerment.'
Last year, before the Lok Sabha elections, leaders of the ST community in Goa began a chain hunger strike and threatened to boycott the election if govt failed to provide them the quota. A day later, the Union cabinet cleared the Scheduled Tribes Reservation Bill. Earlier, Sawant led a Goan delegation to Union home minister Amit Shah to demand reservation for the community.
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During the last delimitation for the ST community held in 2002, their numbers were too small to warrant a quota. However, with the addition of new tribes—Kunbi, Gawda, and Velip—to the list of scheduled tribes, their numbers increased considerably. The ST community is now estimated to be around 1.5 lakh, and the number of reserved seats will be based on the revised population figure.
As per the 2001 census, the number of STs in Goa was recorded at 566, while the total population was more than 13 lakh.
With the addition of the new tribes to the ST list, their numbers increased to over 1.4 lakh in a population of 14.5 lakh as per the 2011 census. Scheduled castes, with a population of around 25,500, already have one seat reserved (Pernem) in the 40-member assembly.
'Thus, a peculiar situation has arisen in the state, wherein the population of the STs vis-a-vis the population of SCs is considerably higher. Though one assembly constituency is reserved for SCs in the state, no seats are reserved for STs, and they are unable to avail the constitutional benefit of reservation as per the provisions of Article 332 of the Constitution,' the bill states.
The bill passed on Tuesday empowers the EC to amend the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008. 'The EC shall take into consideration the revised population figures of the scheduled tribes and readjust the legislative assembly constituency having regard to the provisions of articles of the Constitution and sections of the Delimitation Act, 2002,' the bill states.
In Aug 2023, the Centre said the delimitation exercise would only begin in 2026. State govt had asked Centre to constitute a delimitation commission to identify four assembly constituencies to be reserved for the ST community.
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