Autonomous District Council in North East India
- Part 1 -

Dr. Laishram Dhanabir *

Polling at Senapati for ADC (Autonomous District Council) election in June 1 2015 :: Pix - Oken Sanasam

INTRODUCTION

The North-East India, home to numerous diverse ethnic groups and located strategically with borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, has seen much violence and bloodshed over the past few decades. These include insurgencies in Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram and growth of militant groups in Meghalaya.

In addition there are conflicts and confrontations over land use and control as well as issues of language, identity formation, demographic change and minority and majoritarian relations1. Alienation, mis-governance and corruption as well as underdevelopment are common frustrations in the region which is one of the richest regions in terms of natural and mineral resources in India. But to day maximum of insurgency groups are in the peace process execept some of the major insurgency groups of Manipur.

To tackle the problems of this unique area and safeguard the democratic traditions and cultural diversity of its people, the framers of the Constitution conceived of the instrument of tribal self-rule. This stands embodied in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. This Schedule was drafted by a Sub-Committee on North-East Frontier of the Constituent Assembly headed by Gopinath Bardoloi, the then Premier of Assam.

The effort was to accommodate the collective aspirations of tribal communities within the broader framework of a democratic political system characterized by centralized powers, in a situation characterized by a mix of apprehension, confusion and hope in the days immediately preceding the adoption of the Indian Constitution2.

The North -East India consists of eight states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim covering more than eight percent of the total geographical area and 4 percent of the total population of the country. A large part of the North - East India is governed by the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Indian Constitution. The Panchayats (Extension to the schedule areas) Act, 1996 extends the 73rd Amendment: to the Fifth Schedule areas. Three states viz. Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya are exempted from the purview of the 73rd Amendment3.

The Sixth Schedule envisages establishment of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs). These councils have been given Legislative, Administrative and Judicial powers under the Sixth Schedule. No law of the Centre or the State in respect of the legislative powers conferred on the Autonomous District Councils could be extended to those areas without their prior approval. The district councils are also empowered to constitute Village councils and also Village courts4.

While the ADCs have the advantage of legislative powers which the Panchayats do not have, the Councils unlike Panchayats do not have provision for reservation for women, and powers such as social forestry management.

Articles 244(2) and 275(1) - Sixth Schedule - Provisions for administration of Tribal Areas in the States of 5:

Assam: The North Cachar Hills District Council and The Karbi Anglong District Council. Elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) also formed under Sixth Schedule have been held.

Meghalaya: Khasi Hills District Council, Jaintia Hills District Council and Garo Hills District Council.

Tripura: Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

Mizoram: The Chakma District Council, The Mara District Council and The Lai District Council.

The District Councils comprise of 30 members for a term of five years. The Governor of the state is empowered to nominate not more than four members to the Council while the others are elected on the basis of adult suffrage. The Chief Executive Member (CEM), the Chairman and the deputy Chairman of the Council are elected from the members and the CEM selects the other executive members. There are different internal rules for different Autonomous District Councils.

In some council like Mara in Mizoram, the electorates are eligible adults (anyone above 18 years) but in others like Karbi Anglong right of access to traditional lands and length of stay in the region are regarded as a qualifying criterion for being included in the voters list for the ADCs6.

The Sixth Schedule contains provisions as to the administration of tribal areas in the state of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. The aim of the Sixth Schedule was to protect hill and other tribal communities from the control and power of the groups and the plains. The process of protection began with the formation of the first District Councils in Assam, as far back as 1951.

The Sixth Schedule provisions are regarded as a mini-Constitution within the main Constitution but the whole Schedule needs a close look to remove flaws, contradictions and shortcomings. Earlier, Arunachal Pradesh was also part of the Sixth Schedule and administered by the Governor of Assam as the agent of the President.

The North-East with its large number of tribal groups and newly emerging educated elites has a peculiar political history. Most of these communities had self-governing village councils and tribal chiefdoms even during late British period. Nation and state formation was absent and even in the most advanced area of the region, then Assam, the economy was run by the British.

But the effort should be to give all States the opportunities provided by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. This should be done by safeguarding their traditions, without tampering with their essential rights and giving each state the chance to use its own nomenclature for such systems of governance, with local acceptance7.

Over the past decades, the systems of local-governance promoted under the Sixth Schedule have been seeking to guarantee political dominance for backward groups, better local governance at the community level, better economic development and ethnic security for those who feel threatened by large scale influx of illegal migrants and even shelters from other parts of India.

There is a long list of subjects and powers as far as District Councils in the four states under the Sixth Schedule under Articles 244 (2) and 275 (I). The list includes allotment, occupation or use, or setting apart, of land, the regulation of jhum (shifting cultivation), establishment of village or town committees or councils and their powers as well as administration, flood control, trade and commerce, town and village police8.

To be continued....