The Union Cabinet has given its approval for constitution of Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Communities (DNCs).

Background :

• During the British colonial rule, if the local government had reason to believe that a gang or a tribe had “addicted to systematic commission of non-bailable offences” then it was registered as criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
• Next came the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), 1924. Under this act, the local government may establish reformatory schools and separate criminal tribe children from their parents and guardians and place them in such schools.
• Nomadic Tribes and Denotified Tribes both are the ones that were regarded as criminal tribes under CTA.
• Most Denotified Tribes are spread across the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories.
• After the Ananthsayanam Ayyangar Committee (gave a comprehensive report on how CTA worked throughout India), the Act was repealed in 1949 and was replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act, 1951.
• In 2002, Justice Venkatchaliah Commission recommended for strengthening the programmes for economic and educational development of De-Notified Tribes (DNTs). It also recommended constituting a special commission to look into the needs and grievances of the DNTs.
• Consequently, a National Commission for Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes was constituted in 2005 under the chairmanship of Balkrishna Sidke Renke, to study the socio-economic conditions of these groups
• Another National Commission for Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes chaired by Bhiku Ramji Idate was constituted in 2015 for a three-year period. It submitted its report viz “Voices of the Denotified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Tribes” in 2018.
• In consonance with the recommendations of Idate Commission, the Union cabinet has approved a permanent Development and Welfare Board under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the purpose of implementing development and welfare programmes for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Communities.

Other Recommendations of National Commission for Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes under Bhiku Ramji Idate :

• Since basic census data is not available on these tribes/communities there is a need to undertake a socioeconomic survey.
• The Centre should carve out sub-categories DNT-SC, DNTST and DNT-OBC, with dedicated sub-quota for them. While sub- categorisation of SCs and STs may prove complicated, it can be done immediately among the OBCs since the Centre has already formed a commission headed by Justice Rohini Kumar to sub-divide the central list of OBCs according to the developmental status of member communities.
• Seeking "destigmatisation" of denotified tribes, the panel has recommended that the Centre repeal the Habitual Offenders Act of 1952.

Challenges Faced by DNT :

• Still face social apathy- People of these communities continue to be stereotyped. A large number of them have been labeled ex-criminal tribes.
• Face alienation and economic hardships- Most of their traditional occupations such as snake charming, street acrobatics and performing with animals have been notified as criminal activity making it difficult for them to earn a livelihood.
• Large scale Exclusions- Many of the denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes are spread among SC/ST/OBC but are still not classified anywhere and have no access to socioeconomic benefits whether education, health, housing or otherwise. Also, there is a lack of data on these communities.
• Poor Grievance Redressal- as no permanent commission had been set up till now.
• Lack of Uniform Approach- There are many anomalies in terms of identification of these communities, from state to state. There is a lack of awareness about these tribes and about authority looking after their grievances.
• Declining Population- As a result of all these problems many communities are facing decline in population.

Way Ahead :

• A Committee under the Chairpersonship of Vice-C hairman, NITI Aayog has also been setup. It will complete the process of identification of the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DNCs) that have not yet been formally classified.
• These communities could be included under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.