AGARTALA, May 19 (IANS) - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) today urged the Central Government to give more powers to the Northeast autonomous councils for all-round development of the tribals, who constitute 27 percent of the region's total population of around 40 million.
"We have been urging the Centre to give more powers to the tribal autonomous district councils in Northeast to eradicate poverty and diverse backwardness of the indigenous tribals," CPI-M central committee member Khagen Das told reporters.
He was speaking ahead of the Left Front-controlled sixth council's assumption of office in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
The CPI-M also demanded infrastructural development in the existing 16 autonomous district councils (ADC) in Northeast India facilitating the socio-economic development of tribals.
Of the 16 ADCs, six are in Manipur, three each in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram and one in Tripura.
"The Tripura government has given huge power to the TTAADC. The State Assembly had passed a resolution long back urging the Centre to give more powers to the TTAADC," Das added.
An eight-member executive council led by chief executive member Ranjit Debbarma today assumed office at the TTAADC headquarters at Khumulwng, 25 km north of State capital Agartala.
The ruling CPI-M-led Left Front has stormed back to power in the TTAADC earlier this month for the second consecutive term.
The Left parties won handsomely in all the 27 seats with the dominant CPI-M securing 25 seats while its ally Communist Party of India (CPI) and Forward Bloc bagged one seat each.
The Congress and the other Opposition parties failed to secure a single seat in the politically important autonomous council.
The council, election for which was held May 3, has 30 members, two of whom are nominated by the Governor. Polling for one seat was postponed after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate died after being bitten by a dog.
With this victory, the Left Front has captured the TTAADC four times (1985, 1995, 2005 and 2010) after the autonomous council was formed under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution in 1985.
