NEW DELHI, May 13 ? An ultimatum by the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) today prompted the Union Home Ministry to agree a tripartite talk later this month on resolving the Karbi and NC Hills problem. The Centre?s attention to the problems in Karbi and NC Hills was drawn by a delegation of ASDC and Karbi Students Association and Karbi Nimso Chingthur Asong (KNCA), which called on Union Home Minister, L K Advani here today. The delegation included ASDC president, Holiram Terang, president KSA, Roland Killing, president of KNCA, Seema Ronghangpi, besides Dharam Singh Teron, MLA.
The visit by the delegation also came at a time when a section of DHD, an underground outfit, led by Pranab Nunisa is in the capital to hold parley with the Central Government. The Government is already holding talks with a section of the UPDS. Revival of the Karbi problem at this juncture also assumes significance because of the move to amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for creation of the Bodoland Territorial Area (BTA). Teron said that while they were not aware about the specific amendments the Government proposes to make, they want the Centre to upgrade Karbi Anglong and NC Hills Autonomous District Councils to autonomous States under Article 244A of the Constitution. ?With the reports of all militant outfits willing to settle for a negotiated settlement this is a golden opportunity for the Centre to solve the problem in one package,? suggested Teron.
The meeting with the Union Home Minister, which was followed by a meeting with the Special Secretary Northeast, A M Nimbalkar, were described as fruitful. Holiram Teron claimed that the Home Ministry has assured to convene a tripartite meeting in the last week of May with the Assam Government and the ASDC on the issue. The three organisations apprised the Home Minister that after experimenting the enhanced power since 1995, they have arrived at the conclusion that howsoever power may be enhanced under the Sixth Schedule, their problems will not be solved, because primarily it was not so much the legal factors that are jeopardising a solution but the human factors that have played the spoilsports.
The leaders complained that in spite of the MoU, the Assam Government continued to plan and prepare the annual budgets for the autonomous councils as a result of which the genuine socio-economic aspirations of the hill people were not reflected in the budget. They further argued that the composite areas of Karbi Anglong and NC Hills have better resources than Mizoram and Sikkim to counter the plea that creation of more States may not be financially viable. Besides, the two autonomous councils are being run entirely with funds provided by the Centre as the State Government?s share usually remains on paper. The leaders said they would be forced to launch an agitation from May 17, if there was further delay in holding official talks.