The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is an autonomous council for the

Bodoland Territorial Region The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), informally Bodoland, is an autonomous region and a proposed state in Assam, Northeast India. It is made up of five districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river below the foothills of Bhutan and Ar ...

established under 6th Schedule of

The Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

according to the Memorandum of Settlement between Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF) and Government of India and Government of Assam. The BTC has 40 elected members and an additional six members that are appointed by the Governor of Assam. The area under the BTC jurisdiction is officially called the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD). The region falls within the geographical map of the least developed region in India. The agro-based economy is the only source of livelihood of the people. Industrialisation and other employment opportunities are scant. The Bodoland Territorial Council is headed by a Speaker and the executive committee is chaired by a Chief Executive Member, currently

Pramod Boro Pramod Boro (born 1 March 1975) is an Indian politician serving as the president of The United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) since 25 February 2020 and Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Region, Chief Executive Member of Bodoland ...

. The BTC consists of five contiguous districts —

Kokrajhar Kokrajhar () is a town in the Bodoland Territorial Region, an autonomous territory in Assam, one of the North Eastern states of India. Kokrajhar town is located along the bank of the river Gaurang. The North East Indian Railways divides the ci ...

, Baksa,

Udalguri Odalguri (; also spelt Udalguri) is a town and the headquarters of Udalguri district under the jurisdiction of Bodoland Territorial Council which controls the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts in the state of Assam. Geography Odalguri is l ...

, Chirang,

Tamulpur Tamulpur district, was an administrative district in Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, one of the North-Eastern states of India. The administrative headquartered at Tamulpur. In 2021, the Cabinet of Assam, headed by Chief Minister Himant ...

— carved out of seven existing districts —

Bongaigaon Bongaigaon () is a major city in the Indian state of Assam. Its urban area spans across Bongaigaon and Chirang district. The city also serves as the gateway of the North-East Frontier Railway Zone with its New Bongaigaon Junction railway sta ...

Barpeta Barpeta (Pron: bə(r)ˈpeɪtə / bə(r)ˈpi:tə ) is a town in Barpeta district of the state of Assam in India and is district headquarters. The city is located north west of Guwahati and is one of the major cities in Western Assam. It is also ...

Nalbari Nalbari (Pron: nɔ:lˈbɑ:rɪ) is a town and a municipal board in Nalbari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. Nalbari town is also the headquarters of Nalbari district, Nalbari District. The town is one of ma ...

, Kamrup,

Darrang Darrang () is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Mangaldoi. The district occupies an area of 1585 km2. History No definitive records about Darrang are available for the pre ...

and

Sonitpur Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur. Etymology The name of the is derived from a mythological story fo ...

— an area of 8970 km² (11% of Assam land area i.e. 78,438 km²) comprising various protected tribal belts and blocks in Assam. Its establishment was under the Amended Sixth Schedule of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

History

The BTC was constituted in 2003 and the first elections were held in 2005.

Powers and competencies

Executive and legislative powers

The executive and legislative powers of the Bodoland Territorial Council are derived from the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the 2003 and 2020 Bodoland Peace Agreements. The powers and competencies of the council are as follows:https://ucdpged.uu.se/peaceagreements/fulltext/India%2019930220.pdf https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/pdf1/S6.pdf * Cottage Industry * Animal Husbandry and Veterinary * Forestry & Wild life * Climate Change * Agriculture * Public Works * Silk Industry * Soil Conservation * Co-operatives * Fisheries * Handlooms and Textiles * Health and Family Welfare * Public Health Engineering * Irrigation * Social Welfare & Nutrition * Flood control schemes * Sports and Youth Welfare * Weights and Measures * Library Services * Museums and Archaeology * Urban Development and Town and Country Planning * Tribal Research Institute * Education * Land and Land Revenue * Public Relations * Printing and Stationery * Tourism * Transport * Urban Development * Dairy Development * Municipal Corporations * Village administration * Tribal Welfare * Welfare of SCs, OBCs, Tea Tribes and Minority * Markets and Fairs * Lotteries, Theatres, Dramatic Performance and Cinemas * Registration of Births and Deaths * Food Processing * Intoxicating liquors and opium and derivatives * Renewable Energy * Cultural Affairs * Industry * Legal Metrology * Skill Development and Entrepreneurship * Excise * Horticulture * Science and Technology * Farmers Welfare * AYUSH * Social Justice & Empowerment * Welfare of Tea Tribes * Economic and Statistics * Traditional Skill Development * Food and Civil Supplies * Consumer Affairs * Welfare of Bodoland * Labour and Employment including Industrial Training Institutes

Revenue and taxation

The Bodoland Territorial Council to levy taxes, fees and tolls on; buildings and land, animals, vehicles, boats, entry of goods into the area, roads, ferries, bridges, sanitation, employment and income and general taxes for the maintenance of schools and roads.

Composition

No party has won a majority in the elections in the December 2020 council election with BPF emerging as the single largest party. On 13 December 2020, the UPPL, BJP and GSP agreed to form the next executive.

Party summary

Members

Executive power is vested in an Executive Committee led by the Chief Executive Member. However, between April 2020 and December 2020, all executive and legislative functions were exercised by a principal secretary acting on behalf of the

Governor of Assam This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The Governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the President ...

. In April 2020, Siddharth Singh has been appointed as the Principal Secretary of Bodoland Territorial Council, while Rajesh Prasad was posted as the administrator.

Membership (2020-2025 session)

Executive Committee

The leader of the UPPL, Pramod Boro, became the new Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council on 15 December 2020 with Gobinda Basumatary becoming the Deputy Chief Executive. Subsequently, a new twelve member executive committee was formed with eight members from the

United People's Party Liberal The United People's Party Liberal ( UPPL) is a political party founded in Assam. The party has its headquarters in Kokrajhar Town. The party was actively participated in 2020 Bodoland Territorial Council Election under the presidency of Pramod ...

, seven members from the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

and one member from the Gana Suraksha Party. But in mid 2021, GSP left

NDA NDA may stand for: Military * National Defence Academy (India), a military academy in India * National Defence Act, legislation for organizing and funding Canada's military * National Defense Academy of Japan, a military academy in Japan * Nig ...

and started talks with TMC.

References

{{Autonomous administrative divisions of India Bodoland Autonomous regions of India