Assam: Panel constituted to include Bodo-majority villages in BTR, exclude non-Bodo villages

Guwahati: Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that a panel, headed by former chief secretary P P Verma, will take a decision after reviewing applications from villages bordering the four BTR districts for the inclusion of settlements with a majority Bodo population in the region and exclusion of those with majority non-Bodo population from it, as per a provision in the Bodo Accord signed on January 27, 2020.

Sarma also announced that the villages with Bodo populations above 50% which lie in the bordering area of the BTR, can appeal to be included in the BTR. Conversely, bordering villages with less than 50% Bodo population shall be eligible to appeal for the exclusion from the BTR.

The Assam government has constituted a four-member committee to include Bodo-majority villages in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and exclude non-Bodo settlements from it, Sarma said, adding that the committee will also advise the government on increasing the existing 40 seats in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) to 60 in the BTR, besides reorganizing the constituencies.

Sarma said that during the recent discussion held between Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, it was decided to rename the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD_) shall be renamed as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). "The 4 districts -- comprising Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, and Udalguri -- shall be known as the BTR. The Governor has allowed for the implementation of a Clause of the Bodo treaty."

Apart from Verma, BTAD administrator Rajesh Prasad, Jayanta Basumatary of the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), and Dalim Gayan, a non-Bodo representative, will also be present.

On January 27, 2020, the Centre signed a tripartite agreement with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), which has been spearheading a movement for a Bodoland state since 1972, and the United Bodo People's Organizations.

This Bodo Settlement Agreement – Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), sought to provide political and economic benefits without acceding to the demand for a separate state or Union Territory.

The tripartite agreement was signed by top leaders of the four NDFB factions, the ABSU and the United Bodo People's Organization (UBPO); Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry Satyendra Garg; and Assam's Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna.

After the signing of the tripartite agreement, several of the insurgents went on to join political parties in the lead up to the polls, which would eventually be deferred due to the COVID-19 crisis.

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