Autonomous District Council

24-Dec-2013 Comments (0)

21

WHAT IS AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT COUNCILS (ADC)

ADC are the districts within a state to which central government has given varying
degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.
The establishment and functions of these ADCs are based on the sixth schedule of
the Constitution of India.
WHAT ARE THE FIFTH AND SIXTH SCHEDULES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
In order to protect tribal interest government had enacted these schedules.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
British people were the first to recognize the interests of the tribal people.
They purposefully isolated the tribal areas particularly in the North East of India from
the jurisdiction of Civil, Criminal & Revenue Court.
Objectives behind protecting tribals:
i) To isolate tribals from the mainstream of Indian society who were now becoming
aware of the British unjust policies
ii) They wanted to protect all the resources from other capitalist in India (British East
India Company wanted to have monopoly over these areas. They were against any
other business firm who wanted to make profits from these areas.)
iii) They wanted to preserve the tribal identity.
iv) They wanted to stop any future uprising in the tribal areas. So kept them under
check by making them feel that they are ruling their own area & Britishers are
sympathetic to them.
Regulation X of 1822 was the first regulation enforced by the British for administering
the tribal areas of North East India.
Considering the situation for safeguarding tribals of eastern part of Bengal, the British

Indian administration had enacted the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 which
was popularly known as Inner Line Regulation or Inner Line Permit.
Schedule Districts Act of 1874 was enforced in the hill districts where Inner Line
Permit was not yet extended and those areas were also subsequently brought under the
Inner Line Regulation afterwards. Schedule District signifies those backward districts
where normal administration could not be carried out. Due to that, the entire tribal
dominated backward districts were declared as Scheduled Districts by the Schedule
Districts Act of 1874.
A new term was introduced in the Government of India Act of 1935 called Excluded
Area. Excluded Area means backward most tribal areas which were under the direct
rule of the Governors and districts which were categorized as excluded area had no
representation in the Provincial Legislature. Districts which were categorized as partially
excluded Area were under the provincial government and they had representatives in
the provincial legislature. However, the law enacted by provincial legislature could not
be enforced in the partially excluded area without the approval of the Governor.
An Advisory Committee on fundamental rights, minorities and Tribal and Excluded
Area was set up with Vallabhai Patel as the Chairman by the Constituent Assembly.
Consequently, two sub committees were formed namely: i) North East Frontier
(Assam) Tribal and Excluded Area Committee (Chairman Gopinath Bordoloi)
(Committee popularly known as Bordoloi Committee)
ii) Excluded and partially excluded areas in provinces other than Assam (Chairman A.V.
Thakkar)
The report of the Bordoloi Committee dealt with various aspects relating
to administration of the tribal areas such as thoughts on development, special feature of
these areas, land, forest, control of immigration, service etc. This report was discussed
by the Drafting Committee headed By Dr. Ambedkar & it was put in the Sixth Schedule.
Now this schedule was discussed in the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Lot of debate
took place on this schedule. People against and in favour were putting their arguments.
People against the schedule were demanding that these areas be at par integrated
with plains & autonomy should not be granted to them. Some even argued that it would
create TRIBALISTAN in the same way as Pakistan was created.
However, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, Gopinath Bordoloi, A.V. Thakkar, Jaipal Singh and Rev. JJM
Nichols Roy spoke strongly in favour of the Sixth Schedule provision.
Rev. JJM Nichols Roy is regarded as an architect of the District Council autonomy.
After a long and heated debate in the Constituent Assembly and after certain
amendments were made, the Sixth Schedule finally emerged and was incorporated in
Art. 244(2) read with 275(1) of the Constitution of India.
Along with that, preservation of custom, culture, language and ethnic identity of
tribals of Excluded and Partially Excluded areas other than Assam was incorporated in
the Fifth Schedule in Art. 244(1) of the Constitution of India.
FIFTH SCHEDULE VS. SIXTH SCHEDULE
The provisions of the Autonomous District Council is incorporated in the Sixth
Schedule of the Constitution. It is popularly known as the Sixth schedule.

 The Constituent Assembly also accepted the suggestions of the Bordoloi Committee
and the Excluded and Partially Excluded Area (other than Assam) Committee, as a
result, tribal inhabited areas under the Fifth Schedule are known as Scheduled Area
and tribal inhabited areas under the Sixth Schedule are known as Tribal Area.
It is clearly incorporated in the Constitution of India that even if an area is exclusively
tribal dominated area, it cannot be called a Tribal Area if Sixth Schedule Provision to the
Constitution of India is not enforced in that area.
The Sixth Schedule, applicable in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, gives
tribal people freedom to exercise legislative and executive powers through an
autonomous regional council and an autonomous district council.
The Fifth Schedule, applicable in all the other identified tribal regions, guarantees
tribal autonomy and tribal rights over land through a Tribal Advisory Council in each
State.
CATEGORIES OF SIXTH SCHEDULE
Sixth Schedule was divided into two parts at the initial stage.
Part A Those areas where the people were a bit developed, and where democratic
political institution could be established were listed in part A. In fact, the areas where
District Council could be established were listed in Part A.
On the other hand, the backward most areas where establishment of democratic
system was not possible were categorized in Part B. Therefore, the Governor of Assam
was given discretionary power for administering tribals in Part B of the Sixth Schedule.
Part B is also identified as the Sixth Schedule where there is no District Council.
Initially, even the areas of Nagaland & Arunachal Pradesh were included in the Sixth
Schedule with a provision to make district council. But the status of District Council
was rejected by the people in these areas. After some years, these areas were given
state hood & now they no longer appear in the Sixth Schedule.
The Sixth Schedule was amended again with the reorganization of Assam and
creation of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh from the undivided
Assam.
Furthermore, the category for listing Tribal Areas under the Sixth Schedule provision
was also changed from Part A and part B to Part-I, Part-II and Part-III.
With the approval of the Tripura Assembly, the Parliament again amended the Sixth
Schedule and Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council was included in Part-II A of
the Sixth Schedule with effect from 1st April, 1985.
Eminent lawyer and former Vice President of India, M, Hidayatullah referred sixth and
fifth schedule as constitution within a constitution.
Difference between 5th 6th Schedule & the other part of the constitution:- Some part
of the constitution can be amended by two third majority while others may need two
third majority plus approval of half of the states in India. But in case of amendment to
5th & 6th Schedule, it can be done by simple majority in Parliament.
Four different councils, namely, Regional Council, District Council, Autonomous
Council and Territorial Council appear up till now in the provision of the Sixth Schedule
to the Constitution of India.

 So far as the District Council is concerned, it is still functioning in Mizoram, Tripura

and Meghalaya. Further, there are two Autonomous Councils and One Territorial Council
in Assam.
PANCHAYAT REFORMS AND THE TRIBAL AREAS
Decentralization was increased by enacting 73rd and 74th
Constitutional Amendments which empowered panchayats and municipalities with
a vision of local self-governance.
The Fifth Schedule areas, because of the constitutional immunity against overarching
laws, did not fall in its domain legally.
While village-level democracy became a real prospect in other areas, the Fifth
Schedule areas remained bereft of that privilege.
It was for this reason that PESA was enacted under the Fifth Schedule, which
extended panchayat rule to the tribal areas.
The fundamental spirit of PESA is that it does not delegate powers but devolves them
to the village-level gram sabhas, paving the way for participatory democracy.
PESA comes under the Fifth Schedule, which mandates tribal advisory councils to
oversee tribal affairs and also gives extrajudicial, extraconstitutional powers to the
Governors of each State to intervene in matters where they see tribal autonomy being
compromised.
PESA also has strengthened Gram Sabha to take decisions on important
and contested tribal matters such as enforcing a ban on the sale and consumption of
intoxicants, ownership of minor forest produce, power to prevent alienation of land and
to restore unlawfully alienated land, management of village markets, control over
moneylending, an land acquisition.
The Governors, in order to have friendly relations with the Chief Ministers, have
desisted from getting involved in tribal matters.
Tribal activists have constantly complained that there is not even a single instance
where the Governors have responded to their petitions for interventions in threatening
crises, such as deepening clashes over land, mining or police excesses.
COMPARISION OF PANCHAYAT, DISTRICT COUNCIL AND
TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Making Phanchayat institutions of self governance is the mandate of the constitution.
The objective of the 73rd Amendment Act to the Constitution is the devolution of
power, where as Village Council Acts do not stipulate the same. The village Councils
thus have no comparison with constitutional provisions relating to Panchayats.
When all the provisions of the 73rd Amendment about the powers, scope of function
and financial support for the exercises of the powers and discharge of the
responsibilities by the Panchayat bodies are compared with those attached to the
District Councils under the Sixth Schedule, it is found that while the District Councils
have several regulatory powers subject to state government control, the Panchayats are
in more advantageous position in respect of developmental functions.
The sources of income of district councils are less stable. In fact, they are solely at the
mercy of the state government, whereas the Panchayat bodies are entitled to get funds

from the state and central government under several schemes, in addition, to their own
regular sources of income by taxation, mobilisation of locally available resources, and
the like. To prevent the Panchayat bodies from falling into financial Starvation
Financial Commission has been established.
In case the Panchayat bodies are dissolved, the 73rd Amendment to the constitution
stipulates that they must be reconstituted within a period of six months from the date of
their dissolution. In the case of district councils, fresh elections can be held subject to
the approval of the state legislature within a period not exceeding twelve months.
Moreover, where as there is a provision of reservation of seats for women in
Panchayat bodies, their representation is neglected in the traditional institutions and in
the District Council.
One of the major drawbacks of the District Councils vis-a-vis Panchayats is that while
in Panchayats power percolates down to the village level in Councils it is concentrated
at the District level. This often do not lead to empowerment of people at the grass root
level.
It has also been argued that District Councils would be more effective if villages under
such Councils are empowered.
The overriding issue of corruption has emerged as a major problem.
In the North-Eastern states the pace of development is comparatively slower in case
of District Councils in comparison to the Panchayat areas, largely due to rampant
corruption. In tribal areas the elites or the local leaders take the largest share of
benefits depriving the poorest section of the society.
Efforts must made be to develop these instruments (Panchayats and District Councils)
of political development through the framework of the Constitution which brings selfgovernance to the region and confront the false hopes and angers generated by forces
proposing disintegration.
The future of the North-Eastern states, in political terms, hinges on those seeking and
choosing self-governance over those seeking seperation.
SOME ISSUE
Elections to some of the ADC were not held from many years. But this year many
areas having ADCs are demanding fresh elections to be held.
Elections are largely dependent on the mood of states legislatures but the corruption
& virtually no development in this region is forcing public to ask for new elections.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ADC OF SIXTH SCHEDULE AND ADC UNDER
MANIPUR DISTRICT COUNCIL ACT, 1972
ADC under sixth schedule has legislative and judicial powers.
ADC under Manipur District Council Act, 1972 dont have legislative and judicial
powers. It provides limited administrative powers.
CURRENT CRY OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Arunachal Pradesh is demanding to create Mon and Patkai Autonomous District
Councils (ADCs).
They are arguing that creation of such ADCs is well within the [ambit of the]
Constitution of India for self-rule by the people with a provision to protect own culture

and identity.
Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are under the 6th Schedule of
the Constitution with scheduled area provision for the creation of ADCs, whereas
Arunachal Pradesh has not been given that constitutional benefit.
Sixth Schedule and Ethnicity in North-East
The prolonged turmoil in the North-East is rooted in two causes; (a) the question of
ethnic/cultural identity, which is perceived to be threatened
by encroachment/infiltration by people of other ethnic/cultural groups from within and
outside the region and the country; and (2) the persistence of economic backwardness.
Creation of smaller & ethnic states does not seem to have led towards elimination of
either of these causes. In any case the viability of more new states in the region is
extremely doubtful. The experiments with Autonomous District Councils have also not
yielded the desired results. Such a step has so far not received the favor of either the
ruling politicians or the agitation leaders demanding greater autonomy or separate
states. Some kind of competitive ethnicity, real and contrived, is frittering away the
energy of people, besides encouraging fragmentation and social distancing. There is a
need for relook. There is no justification now of ADC in Meghalaya and Mizoram. It
seems waste of resources.
- See more at: http://www.erewise.com/current-affairs/autonomous-districtcouncil_art52b96fa4aaff1.html#.VsDMUtKSzJ9