Schedule Tribes

During the fourth Five-Year Plan, a sub-category was created within Scheduled Tribes, known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, to identify groups that are considered to be at a lower level of development. **Statement 1 is correct:** PVTGs are spread over 18 states and one Union Territory (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) in India. **Statement 2 is correct:** The criteria for determining PVTG status include a pre-agricultural level of technology, a stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence-level of economy. **Statement 3 is incorrect:** As of now, there are 75 PVTGs officially notified in the country, not 95. **Statement 4 is correct:** Both Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs. So, the correct statements are 1, 2, and 4.

**Statement 1 is incorrect.** The recent amendment to the India Forest Act,1927 does not provide for the right of forest dwellers to fell the bamboos grown on the forest areas. **Statement 2 is correct.** As per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, bamboo is classified as a minor forest produce. **Statement 3 is correct.** The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 allows forest dwellers to own, collect, use and dispose of minor forest produce which includes bamboo, tendu leaves, honey, and other forest produce.