Assam Assembly: Minister Ranoj Pegu Tabled Bill for Karbi Welfare Council

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: For the establishment of the Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council for the Karbi community-inhabited villages in Assam, outside Sixth Schedule areas, Minister Ranoj Pegu tabled The Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council Bill, 2025, on the second day of the Winter Session of the Assam Legislative Assembly.

For the Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council, the number of general council members will be 26, of which 23 will be directly elected and 3 will be nominated by the state government.

According to the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons, a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed on September 4, 2021, between the Government of India, the Government of Assam and Karbi armed groups. Para 3.6 of the MoS states that the Government of Assam shall set up a Karbi Welfare Council for focused development of Karbi people living outside the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council area.

To fulfil the commitment under Para 3.6 of the MoS, the Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council Bill, 2025, is proposed for creating a Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council for Karbi people living outside the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) area, together with the de-notification of existing Karbi Development Council and Amri Karbi Development Council.

The Bill states that there shall be a Welfare Autonomous Council to be called the Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council within the state of Assam for the Karbi community inhabited villages of Assam outside the Sixth Scheduled areas and may include areas under the existing tribal autonomous councils with prior consultation with existing tribal autonomous councils under state acts, to be notified by the Government in the Official Gazette.

The Karbi Welfare Autonomous Council shall have a General Council and an Executive Council as provided hereinafter. The General Council shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with powers to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and to sue or be sued by its corporate name.

It is stated in the Bill that the General Council shall consist of 26 members, out of which 23 shall be directly elected and 3 shall be nominated by the Government from amongst the groups or communities residing in the Council Area and not otherwise represented in the General Council. Out of the 26 seats, 18 seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes community and 3 seats for women of any community.

Further, that the elected members of the General Council shall, at the first meeting to be convened by an officer authorized by the Government, after the election for the purpose of constitution of the Executive Council, elect from amongst themselves by a secret ballot one of the members as Chairman of the meeting to conduct the proceeding where he shall also cast his vote and elect from amongst themselves: (i) one member to be the Chairman; (ii) one member to be the Deputy Chairman; (iii) one Chief Executive Member of the Executive Council; (iv) one Deputy Chief Executive Member of the Executive Council; and (v) as many Executive Members as may be decided by the General Council, but not exceeding one third of the total number of members of the General Council.

The term of office of the General Council shall be five years from the date of the first meeting.

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