Bhubaneswar: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the National Conference of Chairpersons of the Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of Parliament and state legislatures in Bhubaneswar on August 29.
Birla is also slated to inaugurate an exhibition and release a souvenir on this occasion, an official release said on Tuesday.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi; Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram; Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, and Chairperson, Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SC and ST, Faggan Singh Kulaste will also address the distinguished gathering on this occasion.
The two-day conference will bring together over 120 delegates, including Chairpersons and Members of the Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from Parliament and State / UT Legislatures.
The theme of the Conference is “Role of Parliamentary and Legislative Committees in Welfare, Development and Empowerment of SCs and STs.”
The Conference will deliberate on strengthening constitutional safeguards, enhancing socio-economic development, and sharing best practices to empower the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It will also highlight the pivotal role of Parliamentary and State Legislature Committees in ensuring accountability in the implementation of welfare policies, with the vision of realising an inclusive Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The first conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of SCs and STs was held way back in 1976 in New Delhi. Thereafter, successive Conferences have been held in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2001, contributing to robust dialogue on the varied dimensions of welfare and constitutional safeguards for SCs and STs.
However, it is for the first time that such a conference is being organised outside Delhi, the release added.
