Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 19 October 2021
Mr. Govind Ram, General Secretary & Spokesperson of Dweep Janta Party, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has submitted a memorandum to the Hon’ble Union Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah requesting the establishment of a Legislative Assembly or Pradesh Council for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In the memorandum submitted to Mr. Amit Shah, Mr. Govind Ram has mentioned that Andaman and Nicobar Islands is probably the only place that does not fit into the provisos of the democracy in a real sense, even after 74 years of Independence.
Mr. Govind Ram further has presented a brief history of the events leading to the cessation of the Pradesh Council which existed in the Islands earlier. He informed the Union Home Minister :
- With the declaration of the Republic of India, the Island territory was given the status of Part ‘D’ State which was later changed to a Union Territory with the 7th Amendment Act, 1956 of the Constitution of India.
- The Chief Commissioner appointed vide Article 239 of the Constitution of India was designated as the Administrator to work on behalf of the President of India. The status of the administrator was later upgraded to Lt. Governor w.e.f 12/11/1982. The administrator was initially advised for governance by an Advisory Committee named CCAC and the Union Home Minister enjoyed the advice of another Advisory Committee called HMAC.
- Port Blair Municipal Board was established in the year 1958 under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Municipal Boards) Regulation, 1957. Gram Panchayats in the rural areas of the UT came into existence after the promulgation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Gram Panchayats Regulation, 1961.
- With the Establishment of Port Blair Municipal Board and Gram Panchayats the CCAC had gone defunct, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Administration) Regulation, 1979 was promulgated by the President of India in the 13th year of the Republic of India, under which ‘Pradesh Council’ was established on 20th Day of June 1981 with the role and responsibility of counselling the Administration in respect of good governance and policy framing for the Union Territory.
- The Pradesh Council proved to be highly effective as it resulted in ‘peoples representation’ as well as transparency in the administration of the Islands Territory due to open house discussion on policy framing, planning, and execution of works. The Counselors enjoyed and exercised much more autonomy and power than the Gram Pradhans and Municipal Board Members and were also accountable for every success and failure on the part of the Administration.
- The Pradesh Council effectively functioned for more than a decade but consequent upon the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India and resultant establishment of the three-tier panchayat namely (i) Gram Panchayats (ii) Panchayat Samities (iii) Zilla Parishad under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Panchayats) Regulation, 1994, the Pradesh Council was unceremoniously and illogically scrapped for reasons better known to the Congress Ruled Govt. at the Centre, Congress Member of the Lok Sabha of the UT of A & N Islands and the then Lt. Governor of the UT.
- No formal notification dissolving the Pradesh Council of Andaman and Nicobar Islands was ever issued but elections to Pradesh Council have not been conducted thereafter. No doubt, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Administration) Regulation, 1979 was repealed vide Section 209 (1) of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Municipal Council) Regulation, 1994 but there is neither any relevance nor logic behind it as Port Blair Municipal Council is a Civil Body with its jurisdiction limited to Port Blair city only, whereas Pradesh Council was a Local Self Governance Institution with its jurisdiction extending to the whole of the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Mr. Govind Ram after highlighting all the facts in his memorandum has also informed the Union Minister that there is no Legislative Assembly in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and with the cessation of the Pradesh Council there is no scope of peoples participation in policymaking and governance of the Islands.
He added that the middle tier of the Three-Tier Panchayats i.e. ‘Panchayat Samiti’ has also been abolished by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration vide Notification dated 30th June 2020 thereby clearly paving the way for a convenient space for Pradesh Council in the setup.
He suggested that the Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishads should continue at the level of Village and District respectively and the Pradesh Council should be restored at the level of the Union Territory. He added that while the Pradesh Council shall bear the responsibility of people’s participation in policy framing for good governance and planning, the other two institutions the Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishad will be responsible for the implementation of the works for development.
He requested the Union Minister to consider granting a Legislative Assembly for Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the pattern of the already existing Legislative Assembly in the UT of Puducherry or restore the Pradesh Council with some modifications and improvements in its constitution.