CHENNAI: The State government will ensure that eligible Scheduled Tribe (ST) people are issued community certificates within 15 days, Revenue Minister KA Sengottaiyan and Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu assured the Assembly on Tuesday, amid a sharp exchange between the ruling and Opposition benches over the issue.

Minister Vanni Arasu said that several legislators had highlighted the difficulties tribal people face in obtaining community certificates. "I encountered the same complaint when I visited the Kalvarayan Hills, Erode and other areas. People there did not even believe that ministers would visit them, as ministers had not gone there earlier," he said.

Former minister MRK Panneerselvam countered Vanni Arasu's remarks, saying the previous DMK government had implemented several measures that led to the issuance of certificates.

AIADMK MLA R Rakesh credited the AIADMK regime with development in the Kalvarayan Hills. Vanni Arasu challenged him to visit tribal areas where roads and basic amenities were still absent.

DMK whip EV Velu said both sides had a point, asserting that the earlier government had also issued community certificates and pattas to tribal people.

Sengottaiyan assured the House that pattas would be issued to tribal people in accordance with the rules.

Speaker JCD Prabhakar pointed to the gravity of the situation, saying that people in some areas were still forced to carry bodies on their shoulders due to inadequate basic infrastructure.