The world ‘autonomous’ in defining the District Council an institution created by the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution needs to be revisited. Autonomy to the Councils was intended to enable the tribes, then under the governance of a majority non-tribal government to self-govern and protect their customary laws and practices. This word autonomous is now understood as a “laissez faire,” functioning with no accountability for the various acts of omission and commission of the elected Councillors. The non-application of the Anti-Defection law in the Councils has turned the Councillors into mercenaries jumping from one party to another for opportunistic reasons. All the euphemisms about protecting culture and tradition and the rights of tribals are now passé. Once the Executive Committee is installed and a Chief Executive Member is elected there is a rush to see how money can best be used for personal comforts.
The fact that in 2016, six vehicles comprising 4 Scorpio vehicles whose market rates at the time ranged from Rs 8-10 lakh rupees were being auctioned for Rs one lakh to Rs 1.40 lakh and most of those taking part in the auction were wives and children of the MDCs, shows the extent to which corruption has penetrated into this noble institution. That there is hardly any opposition in the ADCs is nobody’s case. Today’s opposition is just waiting in the wings to jump into the ruling conglomerate at the first opportunity, so why should anyone blow the whistle.
That an amount of Rs 84.79 crore was allegedly spent on a road that does not even exist should actually make the people of Garo Hills erupt in anger at being taken for a ride. There is indeed a gross poverty of character which defines the mess these Councils are in. In many ways the Councils are equivalent to grassroots institutions like the Panchayati Raj that are closest to the people or should be so, but here they have positioned themselves as symbols of authority with no accountability. The manner in which staff are appointed lacks all principles of transparency. Yet these same institutions claim to be the avant-garde of tribal cultural practices and tradition. Is corruption now blatantly displayed by the MDCs a core value of tribal culture or does it reflect everything that goes against traditional value systems?
There have been many studies conducted on the efficacy of the district councils to meet the aspirations outlined in the Sixth Schedule. All those studies converge on one point – that the original intent of having these autonomous councils to enable self rule by tribals residing in predominantly non-tribal areas or governed by them, have reached their shelf life. Now that the tribes themselves are in the seats of power, the ADCs in such states are just another hierarchy of governance with no contribution to the well-being of the people that elected them.
