Adivasi representatives in Hunsur have petitioned an official of the Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department against the reported proposal to add the Gond and Raj Gond communities to Karnataka’s tribal corporation, arguing that the move could reduce access to welfare programmes for the 12 communities the institution was originally intended to serve.
The petition was submitted under the leadership of Harsha, president of the Adivasi Janata Parliament, according to Prajavani. The representatives alleged that the state government had established the corporation to focus on the development of 12 tribal communities and had proposed funding programmes through the institution. They questioned the basis for the reported proposal to include the two additional communities.
The 12 communities identified in the petition are Jenu Kuruba, Betta Kuruba, Yerava, Panjari Yerava, Paniya Yerava, Malekudiya, Iruliga, Soliga, Koraga, Hasalaru, Gowdalu and Siddi. The representatives said the corporation should remain focused on these communities, which they described as the original tribal groups covered by the institution.
The dispute is linked to a wider concern over access to Scheduled Tribe benefits. The petitioners alleged that efforts were under way to add 48 communities to the Scheduled Tribe list and claimed that tribal people were already receiving limited benefits from the existing reservation system. These claims were made by the representatives during the submission of the petition; the report did not include a response from the state government or an official order confirming the proposed inclusion.
The representatives also called for internal safeguards within the corporation. They demanded that the chief minister chair the institution for its first three years after its formation, followed by the appointment of a chairperson through an election. They said this arrangement would provide a stronger foundation for the corporation and help support the overall development and self-employment of tribal youth.
The petitioners argued that including communities outside the 12 identified groups could make welfare benefits less accessible to the original tribal communities. Their position places the corporation’s structure at the centre of a broader administrative question: whether a welfare institution created for a defined group should expand its mandate, and how such expansion would affect the distribution of funds and programmes.
Those present included Jayappa, president of the Tribal Farmers’ Association; Vitthal Nanachchi of the Betta Kuruba Traditional Association; Tekla Hadi Shivanna, president of the Hadi Forest Rights Committee; and Basavaraj. The report did not specify the government’s next step on the petition or provide a timeline for any decision on the proposed inclusion of the Gond and Raj Gond communities.
