Andhra: SEC urged to restart special panchayats in tribal villages

Vijayawada: Vadithya Sankar Naik, former member of AP State Commission for Scheduled Tribe and founder national president of Girijana Praja Samakhya (GPS) submitted a representation to the State Election Commissioner Neelam Sahney requesting the reinstatement of special gram panchayats for tribal-dominated villages ahead of the upcoming local body elections.

Sankar Naik in the appeal recalled that the state government had previously constituted special gram panchayats for tribal villages with a population of 500 or more. Additionally, several villages with populations above 400, where tribals constituted over 80 percent of residents, were also notified and recognised under this category.

With the local body elections approaching, he urged the SEC to implement similar provisions once again. He sought the notification of all tribal villages having more than 80 percent tribal population as Special Gram Panchayats, in line with earlier practices and policies intended to strengthen self-governance in tribal areas.