Tribes Advisory Councils (TAC) have been constituted in all 10 states with Scheduled Areas: Arjun Munda

Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda in a written reply in Lok Sabha today said that TACs have been constituted in all 10 states with scheduled areas as mandated in constitution.

New Delhi: According to the provisions of Paragraph 4, under Article 244(1) of Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, the Tribes Advisory Councils (TAC) shall be established in each State having Scheduled Areas therein and, if the President so directs, also in any State having Scheduled Tribes but not Scheduled Areas therein.

Tribes Advisory Council shall consist of not more than 20 members of whom, as nearly as may be, three-fourths shall be representatives of Scheduled Tribes in State Legislative Assembly provided that if number of representatives of STs in State Assembly is less than number of seats in TAC to be filled by such representatives, remaining seats shall be filled by other members of those tribes.

Accordingly, Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) have been constituted in 10(Ten) states having Scheduled Areas therein namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. Further, the States of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand not having any notified Scheduled Area also have Tribes Advisory Council constituted therein. Accordingly, there is no State (mandated to establish TAC), which have not constituted TAC.

The provision of the Paragraph 4, Part B, Sub-paragraph (2) of the Constitution provides that it shall be the duty of the Tribes Advisory Council to advise on such matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in the State as may be referred to them by the Governor.

This information was given by Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.