'Double benefits to converted tribals should be stopped'

ITANAGAR: The Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) has urged the National Commission for Schedule Tribe ( NCST) not to give double benefits to tribals in the state who have converted to minority communities.

Double benefits would promote mass conversion to the faiths classified as minorities and adversely impact the preservation and promotion of the indigenous faith, tradition and culture of the state, a press release by IFCSAP said today.

NCST Chairperson Dr Rameshwar Oraon along with his team members are currently visiting the state to know the status of the implementation of various tribal welfare schemes and gauge the socio-economic condition of the tribal people.

The cultural society led by its President Dr Ligu Tacho also maintained that steps should be initiated by the state to issue minority certificates to the converts, who on their turn should surrender their ST certificates at the earliest, it said.