The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 was passed by the
Parliament to provide for establishment of Autonomous District
Councils in the Hill Areas in the then Union Territory of Manipur, but
following the attainment of statehood in the year 1972, the Government
of Manipur immediately adopted this Central Act by issuing the Manipur
(Adaptation of Laws) Order, 1972 and in exercise of the power vested
in him under Section 3 of the Act, the then Governor of Manipur vide
Notification dated 14.02.1972 initially constituted 6 (six) Autonomous
District for the purpose of constitution of Autonomous District
Councils (ADC in brief) under the aforesaid Act of 1971, namely (i)
Manipur North ADC now Senapati ADC, (ii) Sadar Hills ADC, (iii)
Manipur East ADC now Ukhrul ADC, (iv) Tengnoupal ADC now Chandel ADC,
(v) Manipur South ADC now Churachandpur ADC and (vi) Manipur West ADC
now Tamenglong ADC.
Unlike the ADC created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of
India, this 1971 Act does not provide legislative and judicial powers
to the said ADC, but merely provides limited Administrative Powers
under the pervasive control of the State Government under the Act of
1971. The ADC can make recommendation to the state government to bring
legislation on the matter concerning the members of the Scheduled
Tribe namely (a) appointment or succession of chiefs, (b) inheritance
of property, (c) marriage & divorce and (d) social customs. The ADC is
not empowered to generate its own revenue but made it dependent on
grant-in-aid from the state government. It is therefore evident that
no elected ADC under this centralized legislation of the 1971 could
function effectively to the satisfaction of the Hills people since its
first election in 1973. Despite of calling to safeguard the rights and
interest of the Hills people, each political party in power in the
State deliberately reduced the ADC to merely an agent of the state
ruling party, resultantly, the ADC totally failed to deliver to the
backward and illiterate Hills people. Admitting the weakness of the
ADC under the above 1971 Act, the first minor Amendment of section 25
of the Act was exercised by the state government in 1975, but the same
could not bring tangible results in favour of the Hills people.
Realizing this, amongst others, from late 1970s onwards, the right
thinking hills people including the NGOs started a campaign to do away
with the ADC altogether and demand for greater autonomy had begun
thereafter. Finally, admitting to some extent the unworkable
arrangement of the ADC under 1971 Act, the state government though
unwilling but compelled to dissolve all the elected ADC i.e. Chandel
ADC dissolved on 17.10.1988, Ukhrul ADC, Churachandpur ADC, Sadar
Hills ADC and Tamenglong ADC dissolved on 18.03.1989 and Senapati ADC
dissolved on 24.11.1993. The state government by misusing the power
under the Act of 1971 in discriminately dissolved an extended term of
the ADC and thereby the ADC meant for the Hills people were completely
brought under the control of the State Government and as a result
practically all the functions of the ADC contemplated in the Act have
ceased to exist except education.
Realizing the failure of this Act, from early 1980's the Hills people
started demanding for extension of Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
of India in the Hill Areas in Manipur. Denying the merits of the said
demand, the Manipur Legislative Assembly without the genuine mandate
of the hills people purportedly inacted Manipur (Hill Areas)
Autonomous District Council Act, 2000 to repeal the parent Act of 1971
by inserting the word "Autonomous" for the first time in the cause
title of the Act without providing true autonomy to the Hills people
in the real sense of the term. Fortunately, the said new Enactment of
2000 also could not brought into force.
The Government of Manipur as determined before not to allow the tribal
to enjoy autonomy had again amended the Act, of 1971 by Manipur (Hill
Areas) District Council (Second Amendment) Act, 2006 to the extent of
inserting sub-Section (1A) in Section 29 (1) thereby conferring power
on the ADC to notify any areas in the District Council as Urban Areas
for the purpose of formulation of development plan and inserted
Section 44A in the Act of 1971 providing therein that no land situated
within the ADC shall be allotted, transferred, leased by the Deputy
Commissioner, other than for public purpose except with a resolution
passed by the ADC at its meeting by a majority of not less than 2/3 of
its members. However, this Second Amendment of 2006 also did not bring
out vital change in the parent Act of 1971 and the Autonomy remained
elusive to the ADC.
Again openly defying the core interest and rights of the Hills people,
the Governor of Manipur in exercise of his power under Article 213 of
the Constitution of India vide Notification dated 12th May, 2008
promulgated the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third
Amendment) Ordinance, 2008 and immediately the District Council
Delimitation Committee also constituted by the Governor vide Order
dated 23rd May, 2008 to expedite the process of imposition of election
of the ADC on the Hills people in Manipur. Without wasting any time,
the State Government of Manipur finally brought Manipur (Hill Areas)
District Council (Third Amendment) Act, 2008 into existence vide
Notification dated 27th October, 2008 with the false pretension by
declaring that the wishes of the hills people have been incorporated
in the aforesaid third amendment. But on perusing the said amendment
it appears beyond reasonable doubt that this Third Amendment Act, 2008
also did not bring major changes in the parent Act of 1971. There are
few minor amendments like the strength of the members of the ADC has
been increased from 18 to 24, administrative functions has been
increased from the existing 17 to 26 by inserting a few more functions
like fisheries, co-operative, sports & youth affairs, adult & non
formal education, horticulture and floriculture, rural housing scheme,
village and cottage industries, small scale industries,
non-conventional energy sources, library and culture activities and
power to recommend to the State for recognition of villages subject to
resolution passed by a simple majority of the Council. This aforesaid
powers incorporated in the Act by the Third Amendment are merely an
administrative powers to be exercised by the elected MDC as per the
dictates of the political party /parties in power in the State. It is
correct to assert that conferring more administrative powers/functions
on the ADC is not the right approach to safeguard and protect the
interest of the Hills people in Manipur but rather this exercise under
the present Act of 1971 will open wider doors to State Government to
control and misuse the ADC as mere agents/instruments to implement the
policy of the State Government instead of tribal policy formulated for
uplifting the hills people socially, economically, politically and
culturally and therefore, it is very clear that the Third Amendment
could not change the nature of the ADC created under the parent Act,
1971.
Admittedly, the present ADC in the Hill Areas in Manipur is only a
statutory authority /body created under the Act of 1971 unlike the ADC
created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and is a
constitutional authority/body. There is unmatchable distinction
between the statutory body and constitutional body in terms of power,
status and jurisdiction under the constitution. The present ADC in
Manipur is absolutely under the extensive control of the State
Government in power and as such it is a part of the State. However,
the ADC constituted under the Sixth Schedule is neither absolutely
under the control of the State Government nor it is a part of the
State, but it is 'a state within a state' under the Constitution.
Basically, the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the ADC
under the Sixth Schedule is directly springs from the Constitution of
India itself, but the sources of administrative powers of the present
ADC in Manipur is only draw from the 1971 Act, as amended in Third
Amendment Act, 2008. The ADC under the sixth scheduled enjoy
constitutional status and has the privilege of exercising legislative,
executive and judicial powers to protect and safeguard the interest of
the tribal people and whereas the ADC under the present Act in Manipur
lacks such independent power. The urgent needs of the Hills people in
Manipur is to have ADC under the Sixth Schedule to restore their
tribal autonomy, to safeguard social practices and customary laws, to
protect the interest and rights of the tribal over their land, etc.
They do not need to have ADC like the present arrangement which is
only a State Agency to implement the Flagship Schemes of the State
Government as openly stated recently by Shri. Ibobi Singh, Chief
Minister of Manipur.
The fundamental objective of providing Sixth Schedule to the
Constitution of India is to establish ADC in the North Eastern States
where the indigenous tribal is minority to safeguard their culture,
land, natural resources etc. from unscrupulous exploitation of the
majority or plains people and therefore, infact, being minority, the
Hills people in Manipur is socially, culturally, economically,
politically and constitutionally deserve to have ADC under the Sixth
Schedule, but the same has been strongly objected and denied by the
Government of Manipur on behalf of the majority Maitei in Manipur
Taking advantage of the simplicity of the Hills people, the State of
Manipur has forcibly imposed the present ADC upon the Hills people and
the present form of ADC in the Hill areas in Manipur is nothing better
than a ploy to control the Hills people by the State Government to
enable the Maitei majority for unjust enrichment at the cost of the
minority hills people. Every now and then the Government of Manipur is
trying to persuade the Hills people by saying that the Government is
ready to go for further amendment of the Act, 1971 as amended in 2008.
In fact, the urgent need of the hour is not to go for further
amendment of the Act, but complete repeal of the Act and grant
Autonomy to the hills people under the Sixth Schedule to the
constitution of India. Until and unless the Act is completely done
away with in toto, hundred of Amendments of the present Act will never
serve the interest of the hills people as because more financial and
administrative power as invited by the state government to endorse on
the ADC through further amendment of the Act means more control by the
state government. Imposition of election on the unwilling hills people
is not only runs contrary to the settle democratic norms but
arbritarily demolish the democratic existence of tribal autonomy in
Manipur. Therefore the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur called by
the ANSAM supported by the hills people and others is the ultimate
ultimatum to the state government to constitutionally respect the
tribal autonomy. The state government must stop exercising tyrannical
forces against the minority hills people to undermine the existence of
the hills people in open democracy. Therefore, the central government
and the state government of Manipur are constitutionally responsible
to the injustice done to the hills people in Manipur under the Act of
1971 and as such onus to respect the cultural, social, religious and
political rights of the hills people heavily casted upon the this two
governments by immediately bringing the hills areas of Manipur within
the purview of the Sixth Scheduled to the constitution of India.
Shri. H. L. Shangreiso
Advocate, Guwahati High Court, Shillong Bench, Shillong 793001
