The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Aug 24: After 19 years, the Manipur government has finally decided to conduct elections to the autonomous hill district councils, ADCs, a move aimed to ease the feeling of alienation amongst the hill people of the state.

On the heel of the by and large incident free elections to the panchayat institutions in six valley districts, the election to the autonomous hill district councils, not held since 1988, is set to follow.

"We are planning to conduct the election within this current financial year 2007-08. The state cabinet has also approved a proposal of the Hill Area Committee in one of its sittings held recently," the vice-chairman, MLA Kh Panmei said in an interview with IFP this afternoon.

He also said, "The non-holding of elections for the past 19 years seriously hampered their functioning, even as a certain degree of progress was possible in the empowerment of their valley counterparts, the panchayati raj institutions."

Elections to the district councils and panchayats in Manipur are held in line with the 11th Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Elections to the autonomous hill district councils were last held in 1988 for Senapati. For the rest, the last elections was in 1984 and following the expiry of the terms of the councils, they have been functioning nominally with the concerned district deputy commissioners as ex-officio chairmen, assisted by the respective chief executive officers.

Under normal conditions, elections to the district councils should have been held before or soon after the expiry of the five year terms of the councils. However, elections could not be held in time in view of the resolution adopted by the Assembly Hill Areas Committee in its meeting held on December 20, 1990.

The meeting had resolved that elections to the district councils should not be held until and unless the provisions of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India are extended to the present district councils.

Six years later, in a meeting held on July 12, 1996, the HAC revised its recommendation made to the government against holding polls to the autonomous district councils, and instead recommended that elections should be held as soon as feasible.

Accordingly, the state Cabinet in one of its meetings held in November 1996 approved the recommendation of the HAC, and constituted a Cabinet subcommittee, consisting of six Cabinet ministers to look into the subject of the autonomous district councils.

Following the recommendation of the subcommittee, the government drafted the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Bill and got it passed by the state legislative Assembly in the monsoon session of 2000.

However, the bill could not be in force in the state owing to a pending case in the Court after public interest litigation was filed by a person.

If the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Bill passed by the state legislative Assembly in 2000 is in force, the district councils will get more power and it will be similar to extending the sixth schedule which the Hill Area Committee is demanding, observed the vice-chairman, MLA Khanthuang Panmei.

Even as district councils have effectively reverted to direct administration under the deputy commissioners, the feeling of alienation has been further heightened with the line departments which hitherto worked through their district offices increasingly becoming centralized with almost all development schemes being formulated and implemented from Imphal.

It causes a strong concern for the people of the hill area, S Shimray, a former chairman of district council observed.

 

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