Darjeeling, Jan. 2: The memorandum of settlement to bring the hills under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution has been drawn up along the lines of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), but a study by The Telegraph reveals that apart from some basic similarities, the powers vested in the two bodies are different.

The agreement to create Bodoland Territorial Council under the Sixth Schedule was signed on February 10, 2003, by the Assam government, the Centre and Hagrama Basumatary, chairman of Bodo Liberation Tigers.

While this was also the last time the Sixth Schedule was amended till a similar settlement was inked with Subash Ghisingh, the BTC and the proposed Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling (GHCD), vary a lot.

While the Centre had agreed to sanction a sum of Rs 100 crore per annum to accelerate the development of BTC, a sum of Rs 30 crore has been sanctioned for the same purpose to the GHCD.

The settlement for BTC also had provision to set up a centrally-funded Central Institute of Technology, which was to be subsequently upgraded to a Union government-funded state university. The pact for GHCD, however, has no mention of such provisions.

While Subash Ghisingh?s demand for inclusion of Siliguri subdivision and the Nepali-dominated region of the Dooars within the purview of GHCD has not found favour, the BTC was formed after the four contiguous districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri were reorganised.

Even Ghisingh?s demand for the inclusion of all Gorkha communities within the special provision has not found much support from the state and the Centre.

But the settlement of the BTC clearly mentioned that ?consequent to the inclusion of the BTC area into the Sixth Schedule, the list of ST for the state of Assam shall be modified so as to ensure that the tribal status of Bodos and other tribals living outside the BTC areas does not get affected adversely?.

It was also agreed that the Government of India would ?consider sympathetically? the inclusion of the Bodo Kacharis living in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council area in the ST (hill) list?. No such assurance, however, has been given in the settlement for the GHCD.

(To be continued)