INPT demands empowerment of autonomous district councils

The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a major non-left party in Tripura today demanded uniform empowerment of all Autonomous District Councils (ADC) in the north eastern region for all-round development of tribals, party sources said.
The party, an electoral ally of the opposition Congress, would submit a memorandum comprising a five point charter of demands including uniform empowerment of the tribal councils, to the Prime Minister and union Home Minister in the last week of this month.
"Our main demands are direct funding by the Centre and uniform empowerment of the tribal councils. We also demand transfer of land rights and all departments to the tribal council, including the Higher Education department," party president Bijoy Hrankhawl told PTI.

A Central Working Committee (CWC) member of the party Nagendra Jamatiya said, "The Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) still enjoy more powers than the tribal council in Tripura and if they are given more power by the Centre, it should also be given to us."
"We want full land rights should be given to the tribal council, otherwise proper development works could not be carried out. We also want more power and direct funding by the Centre," he said.
The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) came into being in the state under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 1987 to protect and safeguard the tribals who form one-third of the state's population.

The council, which is the home to 19 tribals, comprises 67 per cent of state territory.
To a question, the leaders said, they were not demanding separate state in the tribal council area and added that a campaign was launched throughout the state to popularise their demands.
However, Indigenous People's Front of Twipra (IPFT), a tribal party, has threatened to launch a movement to press with a demand for a separate state. The party has no electoral presence in the Assembly or in any civic body of the state.