Panel announced to study Dhangar issue

Mumbai: To pacify the Dhangar community which is demanding scheduled tribe (ST) status, the Bharitiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government may announce some additional benefits ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha (LS) polls.

The Dhangars are currently included in the Vimukt Jati Nomadic Tribe (VJNT) category, but they have been demanding ST status for long.

According to sources, the Dhangar community cannot get ST status till the Centre gives its consent to the same. However, the Centre is not likely to give its nod as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has also opined that the Dhangars cannot be given ST category status.

The Dhangars constitute 9 per cent of the state population and their ire for not getting ST status is likely to harm the BJP in the LS polls. Hence, on the lines of the Maratha community, the state government has decided to provide additional benefits to the Dhangars till they avail ST status.

Against this backdrop, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced the formation of a cabinet sub-committee to study the TISS report and decide on various issues of the Dhangar community in view of the report.

The committee is to be headed by the CM, comprises ministers Chandrakant Patil, Subhash Desai, Ram Shinde, Mahadev Jankar, Pankaja Munde, Vishnu Sawara, Eknath Shinde, Rajkumar Badole and Sambhaji Patil Nilagekar who will dicuss the issue.