On August 5, 2024, the Union government introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to create reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Currently, there are no reserved seats for STs in Goa. The Bill is called the “Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024,” and was presented by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Purpose of the Bill

The Bill gives the census commissioner the job of figuring out the ST population in Goa and reporting the results. This will allow the Election Commission (EC) to change the number of assembly seats to ensure that the ST community gets fair representation.

Background

According to the 2011 census, Goa’s ST population grew a lot from 566 in 2001 to 149,275 in 2011. This increase happened because three new communities—Kunbi, Gawda, and Velip—were added to the ST list in 2003. Despite this growth, no seats have been reserved for STs in the Assembly, which is unusual.

Current Assembly Structure

The Goa Assembly has 40 members, but only one seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). This is despite the 2011 census showing a much larger ST population, highlighting the need for changes to ensure fair representation.

What the Bill Will Do

The Bill will help the EC by allowing changes to the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008. Once the Bill is enacted, it will let the EC adjust assembly boundaries based on the updated ST population numbers and create reserved seats for STs. The Union Cabinet approved the Bill in March, before the Lok Sabha election schedule was announced on March 16. Passing this Bill is crucial for improving representation for Goa’s STs in government.