Consider the following statements regarding the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

Question

Consider the following statements regarding the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

i. It has special provisions for the administration of tribal areas in four northeastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur.

ii. The tribal areas in these states are governed as Autonomous Districts.

How many of the above Statement/s is/are correct?

1. A. i only
2. B. ii only (Correct answer)
3. C. Both
4. D. None of the above

Correct Answer

Option B — ii only

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is ii only.

Key Points

• Statement i is incorrect. The Sixth Schedule applies to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — not Manipur. Manipur's hill areas are administered under a different arrangement, through Article 371-C and its Hill Areas Committee.
• Statement ii is correct. The tribal areas in these four states are constituted as Autonomous Districts, and where a district contains different tribes it may be divided into Autonomous Regions.

Additional Information

• The Sixth Schedule flows from Article 244(2) and Article 275(1), and rests on the recommendations of the Bordoloi Committee of the Constituent Assembly.
• District and Regional Councils have up to 30 members — four nominated by the Governor and the rest elected on adult franchise, serving five-year terms. They can make laws on land, forests other than reserved forests, canal water, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance, marriage, divorce and social customs, subject to the Governor's assent.
• They may constitute village and district councils for the trial of suits between members of Scheduled Tribes, and can assess and collect land revenue and levy specified taxes. They may also license the extraction of minerals and regulate money-lending and trading by non-tribals.
• Acts of Parliament or the State Legislature do not automatically apply to an autonomous district; the Governor may direct that they apply with exceptions and modifications.
• The Fifth Schedule covers the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any state other than those four, working through a Tribes Advisory Council and the Governor's power to make regulations — a materially weaker form of autonomy than the Sixth Schedule's elected councils.
• The present autonomous councils include the Bodoland, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao councils in Assam; the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills councils in Meghalaya; the Chakma, Mara and Lai councils in Mizoram; and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.