Article 338A of Indian Constitution: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
Article 338A of Indian Constitution
Original Text:
(1) There shall be a Commission for the Scheduled Tribes to be known as the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes.
(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as the President may by rule determine.
(3) The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
(4) The Commission shall have the power to regulate its own procedure.
(5) It shall be the duty of the Commission—
- to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Tribes under this Constitution or under any other law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such safeguards;
- to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Tribes;
- to participate and advise on the planning process of socioeconomic
- development of the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State;
- to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards;
- to make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes; and
- to discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and development and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.
(6) The President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any such recommendations.
(7) Where any such report, or any part thereof, relates to any matter with which any State Government is concerned, a copy of such report shall be forwarded to the Governor of the State who shall cause it to be laid before the Legislature of the State along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the State and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations.
(8) The Commission shall, while investigating any matter referred to in sub-clause (a) or inquiring into any complaint referred to in sub-clause (b) of clause (5), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters, namely: —
- summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;
- requiring the discovery and production of any document;
- receiving evidence on affidavits;
- requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;
- issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents;
- any other matter which the President may, by rule, determine.
(9) The Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Tribes.]
Explanation of Article 338A of Indian Constitution:
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was added to the Constitution under Article 338A by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, to safeguard the rights of the Scheduled Tribes.
- Composition of the National Commission for STs: It includes a chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other members.
- The chairperson has been given the rank of Cabinet Minister, the Vice-Chairperson has the rank of Minister of State, and other members have the rank of Secretary to the government of India.
- Appointment: the members are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
- Condition of service and Tenure of office: The Constitution empowers the President of India to determine the condition of services and tenure of the members.
- Term of the office: The members of the commission hold office for a term of three years as per the rules made by the
- The Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the other Members shall be eligible for appointment for up to two terms.
- Kunwar Singh Tekam was the first chairman of the National Commission for scheduled castes. Until now, 6 National Commissions for scheduled castes have been constituted.
Functions of the National Commission for schedule tribe:
Under Article 338(A)(5) of the Constitution of India, the following functions have been enumerated:
- Investigate safeguards-related matters: the commission monitors and looks into issues relating to the constitutional and other legal safeguards to the scheduled tribes and reviews their workings.
- Inquires into specific complaints: The Commission looks into the particular complaints related to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled tribes.
- Advice on the planning process: It participates in and provides suggestions on the planning process for the socio-economic development of the scheduled tribes and reviews the workings and progress of their development under a union or a state.
- Presents the report: The commission may submit the report annually or at other times as the Constitution may specify to the President on the working of the safeguards.
- Recommends union or a state: recommends union or to any state regarding the effective implementation of the safeguards and the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes.
- Consultation Functions: Both the union and state governments needed to consult the commission on all significant policy matters that affected the scheduled tribes.
- Other functions: Discharge those functions specified by the President or any law or rule. The functions include the policies and programmes that cater to the protection, welfare, development and advancement of STs.
Other Functions specified by the President under Article 338A(f):
The President mentions the following additional functions of the commission relating to the protection, welfare development and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in 2005 [Article 338A(f)]:
- Granting ownership rights: Steps must be taken regarding giving ownership rights in relation to minor forest produce to Scheduled Tribes residing in forest areas.
- Protection of rights: Steps to be taken to protect the rights of the tribal population over various resources such as mineral resources and water resources as per law.
- Development projects: Steps to be taken to promote the development of tribal people and to work for more viable livelihood strategies.
- Rehabilitation measures: Steps to be taken to provide relief and rehabilitation for tribal groups displaced by development projects
- Prevent Alienation: To prevent alienation from land and to effectively rehabilitate such people in case alienation has already taken place.
- Seeking cooperation: Steps ought to be taken to extract maximum cooperation and involvement of tribal communities to protect forests and undertake social forestry.
- Steps were taken to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996(PESA Act).
- Eliminating the practice of shifting cultivation: Steps must be taken to reduce and eventually eliminate the practice of shifting cultivation by tribals because it leads to the degradation of land and environment.
Report of the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes:
- Presents the annual report: It is the commission’s responsibility to present a report to the President annually, and the commission may also submit a report whenever it deems fit.
- President places it in the parliament: All of these reports are presented to the parliament by the President together with a memorandum outlining the steps taken in response to the commission’s recommendation.
- It must include the rationale for the rejection of every one of these recommendations.
- The President forwards it to the governor: It is also the President’s responsibility to forward any report of the commission appropriated by the state government to the governor.
- The governor further places it before the state legislature, together with a memorandum explaining the action taken on the recommendations of the commission.
- The memorandum also includes the rationale for the rejection of these recommendations.
Powers of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST):
The Constitution empowers the commission under Article 338A (4) to regulate its procedure. The commission has the powers of a civil court while investigating any matters or inquiring into any complaint in particular with respect to the following matters:
- It can examine a person on
- It can summon and enforce the attendance of any person and examine it on oath.
- It can order the discovery and production of any documents and receive evidence on affidavits.
- It can obtain any public record from a court or office.
- It can issue summon for the assessment of witnesses and documents
- Any other matter which the President may
List of Amendments in Article 338A of Indian Constitution:
| Amendment | Description |
| 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 | The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was added to the Constitution under Article 338A by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, to safeguard the rights of the Scheduled Tribes |
For Further Reference:
- Read the constitution of India.
- Read National Commission for schedule Tribes.
