Confusion over quota in tribal areas

For us, there are only two categories of farmers for agricultural electricity connections — general and SC

BARMER: The Constitution has given reservation to people belonging to the scheduled castes and tribes in jobs and admissions in educational institutions.

The two communities also get benefit in welfare schemes such as scholarship for students, affordable housing and national rural employment guarantee scheme.

But the Rajasthan power department considers them to be equal to the general category people and refuses to give them preference in agricultural electricity connections.

According to the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, Banswara and Dungarpur have been declared tribal district while Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Sirohi as partly-tribal districts.

In these districts, the tribes people get reservation for power connections, but the scheduled castes are considered as general category.

In the other parts of the state, scheduled tribes face the same problem while the scheduled castes get reservation.

According to the 2011 Census, there are 9.23 lakh STs and 12.22 lakh SCs in Rajasthan.

Jodhpur power distribution company chief engineer KK Shah said it is the state government’s decision to consider the SCs in the general category in tribal districts and STs as general in other parts of the state.

“For us, there are only two categories of farmers for agricultural electricity connections– general and SC,” he said.

The tribal people gets 12% reservation in jobs, admissions and welfare schemes, said Bhuraram Bheel, member of a state body fighting for the rights of STs in Rajasthan.

“How can the power department equate them with the general category people?” he wondered.

“It’s a violation of our Constitutional rights.”

Shah explained that the power department has created categories for reservation in connections on the basis of population.

Where the population of STs is more than that of the SCs, they get benefit and the SCs are treated as general category while in areas where the population of SCs is more, the STs are treated as general category applicants.

Bheel, who is also the president of the district Bheel mahasabha in Barmer, said the tribes people were deprived of their constitutional rights for many years and are fighting for them.

“We have requested the government several times to rectify this but no one has listened to us,” he said.

The power department has given agricultural connections to the general category on applications until February, 2010.

Applications submitted by the people after the cut-off date has been pending for more than seven years.