Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has pitched for coordination between the Centre and the state for the uplift of SC/ST communities.

Hemant made the remark at a meeting with the members of the parliamentary standing committee on ST/SC welfare led by the Lok Sabha member from Mandla, Faggan Singh Kulaste, in Ranchi on Friday evening.

“Work will have to be done together by the Centre and state for the uplift and development of SC-ST communities. Jharkhand is a state where a large population of ST resides, but they have lagged in the path of progress,” Hemant said.

According to the 2011 census, Jharkhand has over 26 per cent ST population and over 12 per cent SC population.

Hemant, heading a JMM-Congress-RJD-CPIML coalition government, has been openly accusing the Centre of obstructing funds for welfare schemes of Jharkhand and had threatened to take legal recourse to recover ₹1.36 lakh crore in outstanding coal dues.

Hemant is learnt to have told the parliamentary committee that a concrete policy would have to be implemented for the SC/ST communities to derive the maximum benefit from all state government schemes.

“Our government has been continuously working in this direction and its positive results are being seen continuously. Our government is committed to the all-round development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and is going to take many more concrete steps in the future by preparing a vision document and road map,” Hemant said.

The parliamentary committee, which came on a study tour to Ranchi and comprised Lok Sabha members Mallu Ravi, V.D. Ram, Pratima Mandal, Rwangra Narzari and Rajya Sabha members Rwangra Narzari, Phulo Devi Netam and Devendra Pratap Singh also held detailed discussion with Hemant on various schemes being run by the Centre and state for the welfare of ST/SC communities and the problems faced in its implementation in the state.

Since the emphatic victory in the Assembly polls in November, Hemant has been trying to establish himself as a tribal leader of the region. He had opposed the BJP’s policies in terms of the allotment of Hasdeo forest areas for coal mining in Chhattisgarh. He had recently written to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seeking ST status for tea tribes.