ITANAGAR, Jan 12: Lok Sabha member Ninong Ering has urged the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), Nand Kumar Sai, to forward the case of the Yobin community of Arunachal Pradesh to the home affairs ministry for their inclusion in the scheduled tribe (ST) list.
“The Yobin tribe has a population of merely 2000, and they live mostly in isolated areas. I urge you to kindly forward the case of the Yobins urgently to the home affairs ministry and the government of India, so that the interests of the Yobin community can be protected and they can be included in the ST list,” Ering wrote in a letter to the NCST chairperson on Thursday.
The MP also wrote to the MoS for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on Thursday, seeking representation of locals in the College of Horticulture & Forestry (CHF) in East Siang HQ Pasighat, and information on the usage of funds allocated to the college in the last four years.
“In reply to my unstarred question on 8 January, the ministry stated that the college has appointed teachers/faculties from all over the country, ie, from 15 states. But the fact is that the majority of the people appointed in the college are from only one state, and because of this reason there is anger among the local people. If the issue is not resolved in a time-bound manner and the local people are not given proper representation, they may resort to take other democratic ways to show their anger.
“Secondly, the ministry claimed that the quality of education in the college is not degrading, and the basis of the claim is that the first topper and second topper of the ICAR JRF are from the said college. However, the fact is that the degradation of quality in an educational institution cannot be measured on the aforementioned basis.
“Thirdly, I also want to know the details of usage of allocated funds to the CHF, Pasighat, during the last four years,” Ering said.
He urged the ministry to take steps to ensure that locals are given proper representation in employment at all levels, and to take strict measures to improve the quality of education in the college.
