PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that the Central Government will appoint a Census Commissioner by next week to determine and verify the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population in Goa, marking the first step towards implementing reservation of Assembly seats for the ST community.
Addressing media, Sawant said the Centre has assured the State Government that the implementation of the newly enforced law providing political reservation for Scheduled Tribes will be fast-tracked and completed through a four-stage process.
"The first step is the appointment of a Census Commissioner by the Central Government to determine and verify the Scheduled Tribe population based on the 2011 Census. The notification for the appointment is expected by next week," Sawant said.
He explained that once the verification exercise is completed, the second stage will involve identifying Assembly constituencies eligible for reservation based on constituency-wise Scheduled Tribe population figures.
In the third stage, the proposed list of constituencies earmarked for ST reservation will be placed in the public domain. Objections and suggestions will be invited through public hearings before the proposal is finalised.
"The public will be given an opportunity to express their views as per the provisions of law," the Chief Minister said.
The final stage will involve submission of the proposal to the Election Commission of India, which will issue the official notification reserving the identified Assembly constituencies for Scheduled Tribe candidates.
Sawant reiterated that the State Government is working in close coordination with the Centre to ensure that the process is completed without delay.
