ST Reservation in Goa Assembly Moves Ahead, Final Notification in a Month

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said the process of issuing the final notification for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community in the state Legislative Assembly will be completed within a month.

The announcement follows the Union government’s notification of the provisions enabling political reservation for STs in Goa’s 40-member Assembly. The move operationalises legislation previously passed by Parliament and paves the way for four Assembly seats to be reserved for tribal candidates for the first time.

Speaking to reporters, Sawant said the process had moved forward following the notification issued by the Union Law Ministry. He said the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to complete the final notification process within the next month.

As part of the exercise, a Census Commissioner will be appointed to determine the ST population across Goa’s Assembly constituencies. The distribution and percentage of the tribal population in each constituency will be assessed using the latest available census data before the reserved constituencies are identified.

Sawant also sought to dispel concerns over the implementation process, saying there was no need for confusion. He reiterated that the state government was committed to ensuring that the reservation is implemented as mandated.

The Union Law Ministry’s notification marks a significant step towards fulfilling the long-pending demand for political representation of Goa’s tribal population. The reservation will be determined based on the ST population and the geographical distribution of the community across the state.

The development assumes added significance as Goa is scheduled to go to the polls next year. The identification of reserved constituencies is expected to influence the electoral landscape and provide greater representation to the state’s tribal communities in the upcoming Assembly elections.

The process will now move through the required administrative and electoral stages before the final list of constituencies reserved for ST candidates is officially notified.