Related Topics

Tribal welfare in India
2023 NOV   20
Habitat Rights
2023 OCT   12
Toto Language
2023 OCT   4
Hatti community
2022 DEC   16

Bodoland Territorial Council

2020 AUG 14

Preliminary   > Polity   >   Institutions/Bodies   >   Tribal affairs

Why in news?

  • Many groups have called for bringing the entire Arunachal Pradesh under the ambit of the Sixth Schedule or Article 371 (A) of the Constitution.

About Sixth Schedule of Indian constitution

  • The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as per Article 244.
  • Passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, it seeks to safeguard the rights of tribal population through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). ADCs are bodies representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.  
  • The Governor is empowered to increase or decrease the areas or change the names of the autonomous districts. While executive powers of the Union extend in Scheduled areas with respect to their administration in Vth schedule, the VIth schedule areas remain within executive authority of the state.
  • The acts of Parliament or the state legislature do not apply to autonomous districts and autonomous regions or apply with specified modifications and exceptions.
  • The Councils have also been endowed with wide civil and criminal judicial powers, for example establishing village courts etc. However, the jurisdiction of these councils is subject to the jurisdiction of the concerned High Court.
  • The sixth schedule to the Constitution includes 10 autonomous district councils in 4 states. These are:
    • Assam: Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council.
    • Meghalaya: Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.
    • Tripura: Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
    • Mizoram: Chakma Autonomous District Council, Lai Autonomous District Council, Mara Autonomous District Council.
  • These councils have also the power to assess and collect land revenue and to impose certain specified taxes.
  • Along with ADCs, the Sixth Schedule also provides for separate Regional Councils for each area constituted as an autonomous region. In all, there are 10 areas in the Northeast that are registered as autonomous districts – three in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram and one in Tripura. These regions are named as district council of (name of district) and regional council of (name of region).
  • Each autonomous district and regional council consists of not more than 30 members, of which four are nominated by the governor and the rest via elections. All of them remain in power for a term of five years.
  • The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam, however, is an exception as it can constitute up to 46 members out of which 40 are elected.
  • Of these 40 seats, 35 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and non-tribal communities, five are unreserved and the rest six are nominated by the governor from unrepresented communities of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).

PRELIMS QUESTION

Bodoland territorial council is an autonomous council located in:
(a)Meghalaya
(b)Assam
(c)Tripura
(d)Nagaland

Answer to prelims question