Bodoland Territorial Council

Bodoland Territorial Council
Bodoland Territorial Council
Type
Type	Autonomous District Council of the Bodoland Territorial Region
Term limits	5 years
Leadership
Speaker	Vacant (Governor's rule)
Chief Executive Member	Vacant (Governor's rule)
Structure
Seats	46 (30 reserved for Scheduled Tribes, 5 for non-tribal communities, 5 open for all communities and 6 nominated by Governor of Assam from the unrepresented communities of the region)
Political groups	Government (20) Bodoland People's Front (20); Opposition (20) AIUDF (4); BJP (1); Independent (15); Other (6) Appointed (6);
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	8 April 2015
Next election	2020
Meeting place
	Bodoland Secretariat,; Bodofa Nwgwr, Kokrajhar
Website
	http://www.bodoland.in

The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is an autonomous district council for the Bodoland Territorial Region in India.^[3] It was established in February 2003.

The BTC has 40 elected members and an additional six members that are appointed by the Governor of Assam. The area under the BTC jurisdiction is officially called the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The region falls within the geographical map of the least developed region in India. The agro-based economy is the only source of livelihood of the people. Industrialisation and other employment opportunities are scant.

The Bodoland Territorial Council is headed by a Speaker and is executive committee is chaired by a Chief Executive Member, most recently Hagrama Mahilary.

The BTR consists of four contiguous districts — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang — carved out of seven existing districts — Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Darrang and Sonitpur — an area of 8,822 km² (11% of Assam land area i.e 78,438 km² ) comprising various protected tribal belts and blocks in Assam. Its establishment was under the Amended Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.^[4]

The term of the previous council ended on 27 April 2020 and following the postponement of elections scheduled for 4 April 2020 a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Bodoland is under Governor's rule until a new council can be elected.^[5]^[6]

Powers and competencies

Executive and legislative powers

The executive and legislative powers of the Bodoland Territorial Council are derived from the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the 2003 and 2020 Bodoland Peace Agreements.

The powers and competencies of the council are as follows:^[7]^[8]

Cottage Industry
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary
Forests
Agriculture
Public Works
Silk Industry
Education
Soil Conservation
Co-operatives
Fisheries
Handlooms and Textiles
Health and Family Welfare
Public Health Engineering
Irrigation
Social Welfare
Flood control schemes
Sports and Youth Welfare
Weights and Measures
Library Services
Museums and Archaeology
Urban Development and Town and Country Planning
Tribal Research Institute
College Education
Land and Land Revenue
Public Relations
Printing and Stationery
Tourism
Transport
Development
Municipal Corporations
Village administration
Tribal Welfare
Markets and Fairs
Lotteries, Theatres, Dramatic Performance and Cinemas
Registration of Births and Deaths
Food
Intoxicating liquors and opium and derivatives

Revenue and taxation

The Bodoland Territorial Council to levy taxes, fees and tolls on; buildings and land, animals, vehicles, boats, entry of goods into the area, roads, ferries, bridges, sanitation, employment and income and general taxes for the maintenance of schools and roads.^[9]^[10]

Executive Committee

Executive power is usually vested in a 14 member Executive Committee led by the Chief Executive Member. However following the expiration of the present term of the council on 27 April 2020, all executive and legislative functions are currently exercised by a principal secretary acting on behalf of the Governor of Assam.^[11]

Membership (2015-2020 session)

The members of the Executive Committee up to 27 April 2020 were as follows:

	Executive Member	Portfolio
1	Hagrama Mohilary	Chief Executive Member, PWD, P & RD, WPT & BC, IBA
2	Kampa Borogoyary	Deputy Chief Executive Member, Forest, Tourism, Education
3	Lwmsraw Daimary	PHE, Museum & Archaeology, Excise
4	Bonjar Daimary	Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Cinema, Cultural Affairs
5	Rajib Brahma	Irrigation, WPT & BC (Plan Fund)
6	Mritunjay Narzary	Social Welfare, Information & Public Relations
7	Alindra Mushahary	Land Revenue & Disaster Management, Printing & Stationery, Market & Fairs
8	Ganesh Kochary	Health Services, Cottage Industry
9	Doneswar Goyary	Urban Development and Town & Country Planning, Sports & Youth Welfare
10	Ansumwi Khungur Boro	Agriculture, Weight & Measure
11	Deben Boro	Handloom & Textile, Sericulture
12	Shyam Sundi	Fishery, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Labour & Employment
13	Jagadish Sarkar	Soil Conservation, Transport, Cooperation
14	Maheswar Basumatary	Water Resources, Library Services

References

External links