SIXTH SCHEDULE - POLITY
News: Union
Home Ministry evades direct reply on Ladakh’s inclusion under Sixth Schedule of
Constitution
What's in the news?
● Evading
a direct reply on the possible inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of
the Constitution, the Union Home Ministry has informed a Parliamentary panel
that the main objective of the inclusion of tribal populations under the said
schedule is to ensure their overall socio-economic development, which the Union
Territory’s administration “has already been taking care of since its
creation”.
Key takeaways:
● In
2021, Ladakh’s only member in the Lok Sabha, the BJP’s Jamyang Tsering Namgyal,
demanded constitutional safeguards by amending the Ladakh Autonomous Hill
District Council (LAHDC) Act for the protection of land, employment, and the
cultural identity of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.
● The
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs tabled a report in the Rajya
Sabha which said that, according to the 2011 Census, the tribal population in
the Union Territory of Ladakh is 2,18,355, that is 79.61% of the total
population of 2,74,289.
● The
committee recommended that special status may be granted to the Union Territory
of Ladakh considering the developmental requirements of the tribal population.
● The
report said: “The Committee further recommends that the possibility of
including Ladakh in fifth or sixth Schedule may be examined.”
Sixth Schedule:
● The
Sixth Schedule under Article 244
provides for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions - Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), that
have some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy within a state.
Powers of ADC:
● ADCs
have up to 30 members with a term of
five years, and can make laws, rules and regulations with regard to land,
forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village- and
town-level policing, inheritance, marriage and divorce, social customs and
mining, etc. (4 of whom were nominated
by the governor).
● The
Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam is an exception with more than 40 members
and the right to make laws on 39 issues.
● The
ADCs are empowered with civil and judicial powers. They can constitute village courts within their jurisdiction
to hear the trial of cases involving the tribes.
● Governors
of states that fall under the Sixth Schedule specify the jurisdiction of high
courts for each of these cases.
● Along
with ADCs, the Sixth Schedule also provides for separate Regional Councils for each area constituted as an
autonomous region.
Areas of Sixth Schedule:
● The
Sixth Schedule applies to the Northeastern
states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram (three Councils each), and Tripura (one
Council).