DENOTIFIED TRIBES (DNT)

About: 

• Denotified tribes (DT): Tribes labelled as criminals through a legislation by British government and were denotified post-independence. 
  
  
• Nomadic tribes (NT): Tribes maintaining constant geographical mobility. 
  
  
• Semi-Nomadic Tribes (SNT): Tribes who are on the move, but return to fixed habitations once a year, mainly for occupational reasons. 
  
  

Timeline: 

• The term, ‘De-notified and Nomadic Tribes’, can be traced to the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871. The colonial government notified nearly 200 tribal communities to be hereditary criminals and subjecting them to constant harassment by the administration. 
  
  
• After India gained Independence, these tribes were ‘de-notified’ from the list of Criminal Tribes, and, hence, the term. 
  
  
• The CTA was repealed and the Habitual Offenders Act (HOA) was enacted in various States. Currently, a variant of the HOA Model Bill as proposed by the Union Government stands enforced in 10 States across the country, having been enacted in many more. 
  
  

Steps taken by Government: 

• To address these issues, the first National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2003. 
  
  
• NCDNT was reconstituted two years later under the chairpersonship of Balkrishna Renke, which submitted its report in 2008. The Renke Commission estimated their population between 10-12 crore. 
  
  
• In 2015, Idate Commission was constituted under the chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji Idate which submitted its report in January 2018. Its Key Recommendations are – 
  • Set up a Permanent Commission for them on the lines of similar commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. 
    
    
  • Set up a dedicated National Finance Development Corporation for them. 
    
    
  • Set up a working group under NITI Aayog to look into various policy issues relating to the communities. 
    
    
  • Grant Constitutional protection to these communities, under a separate third schedule after Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Making them eligible for reservation, and extending the protective cover of Prevention of Atrocities Act to them. 
    
    
  
  
  

Announcements made in interim budget 2019-20: 

1. A Committee under NITI Aayog will be set-up to complete the task of identifying De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic communities not yet formally classified.  
   
   
2. A Welfare Development Board under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will be set-up for implementing welfare and development programmes for them.