Goa to reserve seats for scheduled tribe before next state polls, says CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. File Photo

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday informed the state legislative Assembly that his government is trying reserve constituencies for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population before the next state Assembly election in 2027.

AAP MLA Capt Venzy Viegas had raised the issue on the floor of the House during the ongoing Budget session seeking to know when the state government will reserve Assembly constituencies for the ST population. A week-long session of the Goa Assembly began on Monday.

As per the 2001 census, the total ST population in Goa was 9.90 per cent, while it was 10.23 per cent in 2013, Viegas said.

"Why is there a delay in reserving seats?" the MLA questioned, adding that out of 40 seats, four should be reserved for ST candidates.

The constituencies of Mayem, Sanguem, Priol and Quepem should be reserved as per the proposal, which is pending before the state government, he said. Responding to the issue, Sawant said the constituencies for ST reservation would be decided based on the population of the community.

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The ST population is low in a constituency like Mayem and hence reserving it would be an injustice, he said.

The chief minister further said that a population survey would be conducted depending on the number of voters. "We have to decide whether the State Election Commission or Central Election Commission will conduct the survey," Sawant said.

Citing that reservation was a constitutional requirement, Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai said Kashmir has reserved nine out of its 90 constituencies for ST candidates.

Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar said Goa should reserve seats for ST community just like other states.
The state government will try to ensure that the reservation of seats will be done before the 2027 Goa Assembly election, the chief minister said.

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