Agartala, Feb 17 (PTI) The Tipra Motha, which is in power in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), on Thursday submitted deputations to Governor Satyadeo N Arya, through administrative officials in eight districts, seeking his intervention in holding immediate election to village committees.
The TTAADC covers 70 per cent of the state’s territory and is home to over 30 per cent of the tribal population in the northeastern state. It is locally administered through the village committees.
Leaders and supporters of the regional party gathered in front of the offices of the district magistrates, sub-divisional magistrates, and block development officers across the state to submit their memoranda seeking immediate election to 587 village committees.
“If polling is not conducted by March 31, the village committees will not receive funding from the state as well as the Centre. Naturally, the people living in the tribal council areas will be the worst sufferers,” Rajeshwar Debbarma, political secretary to Tipra Motha chairman Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, said.
Development works have also come to a standstill because of fund crunch, he said.
This is the right time to hold election to the village committees because the coronavirus situation has been controlled in the state, he said.
“If polling is not held to the village committees, we will not hesitate to knock at court’s door for protecting the constitutional rights of the people”, Debbarma said.
Each village committee, on an average, receives Rs. 1 crore annually to implement various development activities including MGNREGA and PMAY, said TTAADC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), C K Jamatia.
The Autonomous District Council (ADC) had passed a Budget of Rs. 1042 crore for 2021-22 but the state has approved Rs. 584 crore as budgetary outlay.
The Tipraha Indigenous People’s Regional Alliance (TIPRA), an umbrella oganisation of regional political parties floated by Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, had registered a comfortable win in the election to the 30-member TTAADC last year by securing 18 seats. The BJP bagged nine seats while one seat went to an Independent.
Two members of the council are nominated by the Governor.
The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a BJP ally, and the Left Front did not win a single seat. The CPI(M) had governed the council for 15 years in a row.
In a letter to the Governor on February 4, the Tipra Motha chairman had stressed the need for conducting election to the village committees at the earliest for averting a constitutional crisis.
The tenure of the village committees expired on March 7, 2021, but election to these committees have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PTI PS MM MM
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Source: The Print
