Panaji: The Parliament has passed the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of Goa Bill, 2025, marking a significant milestone for political reservation of tribal communities in Goa. The bill now awaits the President’s assent before the reservation can be implemented in the 2027 assembly elections.
Although the Gawada, Kunbi, and Velip communities were granted Scheduled Tribe status in 2003, it took 22 years for the political reservation bill to pass Parliament.
The issue gained renewed momentum after a PIL was filed in 2021 by then Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar and the formation of the Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes organisation, which pushed for the cause.
The assembly passed a resolution demanding ST reservation, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024 and introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2024. After a year-long process, the bill passed both houses of Parliament.
CM Pramod Sawant expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, calling it a “long-awaited dream” come true. Mission Political Reservation president Adv Joao Fernandes urged swift presidential assent and a timely delimitation process to ensure reservation implementation in 2027.
Tribal leader Rama Kankonkar credited the tribal community’s persistent pressure for the bill’s passage but cautioned that the community awaits final notification to fully trust the government’s commitment.
ST leader Anthony Barbosa said that the bill was the result of years of tireless campaigning. “From filing petitions to peaceful protests, the tribal community has done everything possible to highlight this issue. Today, we feel heard and acknowledged at the highest level,” Barbosa said.
Prabhakar Gaonkar, another ST leader, said the bill marks a turning point in Goa’s political landscape.
“This is not just about reservation. It’s about dignity, recognition, and our right to have a voice in the state’s decision-making process. For far too long, we have remained politically invisible despite being a constitutional tribe,” Gaonkar said.
