18 TTAADC bills pending for years, Pradyot Kishore Debbarma seeks Governor’s intervention

Tipra Motha Party founder Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on Wednesday, August 26, sought the intervention of Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu over the prolonged pendency of around 18 bills passed by the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

Debbarma, along with TTAADC Chief Executive Member Runiel Debbarma, met the Governor on Wednesday and requested him to examine the bills that have remained pending at different stages for several years.

The TTAADC, an elected body under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, has passed several bills concerning the rights and welfare of indigenous people, including those related to land rights, administrative reforms, recruitment policy and customary laws, Debbarma said.

However, he said the bills cannot become laws until they receive the required approval of the Governor.

“Many bills, including those related to land rights, administrative reforms, recruitment policy and customary laws, have been passed by the Council. We are an elected body and people have voted us into power. But these bills are pending for the Governor’s signature, and therefore we cannot call them laws,” he said.

Debbarma said the issue had been raised with successive Governors and that a written representation was submitted seeking intervention to determine why the bills had remained pending for years.

He said the delay had created difficulties for elected representatives, as people continued to question them about the implementation of measures promised for their welfare.

“If these bills do not get approved, people ask us questions. They have voted for us, so what should we tell them when we cannot make these laws?” he said.

Debbarma also claimed that the issue had been raised before the Supreme Court and alleged that nearly 18 bills had remained pending at different stages since around 2007.

Following the meeting, he said he had requested the Governor to look into the bills forwarded by the TTAADC over the years.

“Met the Governor of Tripura and requested him to look into the several bills sent by the TTAADC over the years which have remained in the dark,” Debbarma said in a post.

He described the Governor as “kind and gracious as always” and expressed hope that the spirit of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would be upheld.

The TTAADC, which administers tribal-majority areas of Tripura, has legislative and administrative powers over specified subjects under the Sixth Schedule.