• Tribal Areas:- The tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur are separately dealt with in Article 244(2), and provisions for their administration are to be found in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• Sixth Schedule:- The 6th Schedule is related to the administration of the Tribal Areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur are specified in the table appended to the 6th Schedule( paragraph 20) of the Constitution, which has undergone several amendments originally. It consisted of two parts A and B. But since the creation of the State Nagaland, the table (as amended in 1972, 1984, 1988, 2003) includes 10 areas in four parts. These special provisions are provided under Article 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution.
Part I – (1) The North Cachar Hills District. (2) Karbi Anglong District. (3) Bodoland Territory Areas District.
Part II (I) – (1) Khasi Hills District. (2) Jaintia Hills District. (3) Garo Hills Districts (in Meghalaya)
Part II (A)- Tripura Tribal Areas District.
Part III – (1) The Chakma District. (2) The Mara District. (3) The Lai District
• Administration under Sixth Schedule:-
(1) Executive and Legislative powers- Under the provisions of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India, Autonomous District Councils can make laws, rules, and regulations in the areas like land management, water resources, forest management, agricultural, cultivation, formation of village councils, public health, sanitation, village, and town level planning, the appointment of traditional chiefs and headman, inheritance of property, marriage, and divorce, social customs, money-lending, mining and minerals.
• Judicial powers:- Autonomous District Councils have the powers to form courts to hear cases where both the parties are members of Scheduled Tribes and the maximum sentence, is less than 5years in prison. It has the power to settle certain types of civil and criminal cases also. Thus the councils under the 6th Schedule have been given more power than the local government under the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution 1992.
• Role of the Governor:- The Governor is empowered to determine areas under the administration of the councils. He has the authority to form a new Autonomous District. He can also increase or decrease the areas of any autonomous district, or district council. The act of Parliament or the State Legislature so not apply to Autonomous Districts and Autonomous Regions or apply by specified modifications and exceptions. He is also empowered to unite two or more districts or its part to carve out one autonomous district from it. The Governor can also define the boundaries or alter the name of any autonomous district.
• District Councils and Regional Councils:- Each District Council and Regional Council consists of not more than 30 members of which 4 are nominated by the Governor and the rest via elections. All of them remain in the power for a term of 5years. District Council and Regional Council under the 6th Schedule have the real power for making laws on various legislative subjects.
• Taxation Revenue:-
(1) The Regional Council and Autonomous District Councils have the powers to assess and collect revenue concerning such lands by the principles for the time being followed by the government of the State.
(2) They also have the power to levy/collect all taxes on lands, buildings, and tolls on a person resident within the area.
(3) It also has the power to levy/ collect all or any of the following taxes:
(i) Profession, trades, callings, employments.
(ii) Animals, vehicles, boats
(iii) Entry of goods into a market, and tolls on passengers, goods carried in ferries.
(iv) Maintenance of schools, dispensaries, or roads.
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