Ladakh team in Meghalaya to study Sixth Schedule

A team from Ladakh has reached Meghalaya capital Shillong to study the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that makes special provisions for administration of tribal areas. The brief for the four-member team is also to study the mechanisms that have worked or did not work in safeguarding tribal culture, land and environment.

Team member and former MLA Tshering Samphel said leaders, academics and stakeholders in Ladakh have been weighing the pros and cons of constitutional safeguards since the Centre declared Ladakh a Union Territory on August 5. The team sponsored by Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, has been meeting civil society leaders, officials and members of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.

Tribal dominated areas of Assam and Tripura besides Meghalaya and Mizoram are under the Sixth Schedule areas. Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram have three tribal councils each.