The Unique Institution of Local Self-Government in the North-East

Abstract

The author discusses the unique institution of self-governance (Autonomous District Councils) that has evolved in the states of North-East India under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution. The author provides a comparative picture of self-governance in the Sixth Schedule areas and that under the Panchayati Raj system in other parts of the country. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the North-East as a geopolitical, economic and historical entity, followed by a discussion on the evolution of a system of governance that covers both the colonial and the post-independence period. A third section deals with the unique institution of self-governance for the hill states of the North-East as provided in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution. The fourth section critically examines the working of Autonomous Councils. The fifth compares the Sixth Schedule institution with third-tier government, that is the Panchayati Raj Institution; the final section makes some concluding observations.