Archive · 29 Jul 2026
ST Communities Seek Separate Gram Panchayats
Vadithya Sankar Naik, a former member of the Andhra Pradesh State ST Commission, has asked the State Election Commissioner to create separate gram panchayats for villages where 80% or more of the population is from Scheduled Tribes (ST).
He believes this will help in better governance and ensure that tribal communities get their constitutional rights.
Currently, only villages with 100% ST population have separate panchayats, leaving those with 80-90% ST population without this benefit.
This affects areas like drinking water, road connectivity, education, and healthcare.
Naik says that tribal self-governance is a constitutional responsibility and should be given priority.
Vadithya Sankar Naik urges the State Election Commissioner to form separate gram panchayats for villages with 80% or more ST population.
Currently, only villages with 100% ST population have separate panchayats.
Lack of separate panchayats affects governance, welfare schemes, drinking water, road connectivity, education, and healthcare.
Naik argues that tribal self-governance is a constitutional responsibility.
He seeks priority notification to ensure holistic development of tribal communities.
- Who
- Vadithya Sankar Naik, former member of AP State ST Commission and founder of Girijana Praja Samakhya (GPS)
- What
- Urging for separate gram panchayats for villages with 80% or more ST population
- When
- Tuesday (specific date not mentioned)
- Where
- Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
- Why
- To ensure holistic development and constitutional rights for tribal communities.
Tribal Communities
Government Authorities
Constitutional Rights
Tribal Communities
Tribal communities argue that they are being deprived of their constitutional rights by not having separate gram panchayats.
Government Authorities
Government authorities may have different interpretations or administrative constraints regarding the formation of separate gram panchayats.
- Population Threshold
- 80% or more ST population
- Current Status
- Villages with 100% ST population have separate panchayats, but those with 80-90% do not.
- Impacted Areas
- Governance, welfare schemes, drinking water, road connectivity, education, and healthcare.
- Constitutional Responsibility
- Tribal self-governance is a constitutional responsibility.