THE GORKHA DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, ASSAM History of coming-up in action, Objective ...
History of formation : The Gorkha Development Council- an organization constituted along with 13 other such development councils for different communities in Assam by the Govt. of Assam recently under the framework of the Constitution of India vide govt. notification No. TAD/BC/491/07/120 dtd. 11/10/2010. It was a historical day for the Gorkha/Nepalis of Assam when the GDC (Gorkha Development Council) members, being assembled in the conference hall of Director, Welfare of Plain Tribes & Backward Classes (WPT & BC) on 01/12/2010 as specified by the govt. order/circular No. DW. Council-83/2010/10-A dtd. 22-11-2010 to take oath by the members and to elect Chairman and Vice-Chairman as follow-up process. All the members, finalized by the Assam Gorkha Sammelan and the Cabinet Sub-Committee, took oath to maintain harmony and integrity of nation and always work to protect the sovereignty of the country and sanctity of the constitution. The Gorkha people under different banners including the Assam Gorkha Sammelan, the All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union and public from various places of the state assembled in the hall, under special permission, to witness the occasion and share the historical moment and event of official recognition of the Gorkha community by the govt. as an undeveloped indigenous community of Assam. The members after oath taking, unanimously elected Shri Loknath Upadhyaya as Chairman and Shri Ajoy Kr. Subba as Vice-Chairman of the GDC. Shri Loknath Upadhyaya, after being elected Chairman, in his short address, thanked to the Congress led govt. of Assam to accord long deserved official recognition to our sincere service and sacrifice to the motherland for centuries together. As a community of a linguistic minority group and lagging behind other communities in almost all field of development, we needed special help, guidance and protection from the govt. for upliftment of our downtrodden condition. The Vice-Chairman and some members also addressed the sitting.
The Assam Gorkha Sammelan- the prime socio-cultural organization of Assam, guiding and assisting the community in the days of hardship and need continuously for the last about 50 years- placed its demand for a development council before Shri Tarun Gagoi, the hon’ble CM of Assam on 21st January, 2008 in its venue of 24th biannual conference at Digboi. The hon’ble Chief Minister (CM) was pleased to declare in the open session of the conference on the same date to form a Development Council for Gorkhas in Assam. The outcome of that declaration is the present GDC. The formation process was completed when the elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each of the newly formed Dev. Councils of Assam took oath of office on 18-01-2011 in the conference hall of the Hon’ble CM, Assam. Of course, it must be mentioned here that prior to AGSdemand for Dev. Council, the All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union, in a public meeting at Joymati Pathar, Tezpur in 2003 revised a strong demand for an autonomous council for Gorkhas in Assam. Decision is pending with the govt.
Objective : The objective of setting-up of Dev. Councils as shown in the govt. guideline run so- “Objective to setting-up of the Dev. Councils for these community is to provide maximum participation by the people of various backward communities within the framework of the constitution of India for social, economic, educational, ethnic and cultural advancement of the people belonging to those communities in the State of Assam”.
Formation Procedure of Council : As per guide-line of the govt. of Assam- WPT&BC deptt. No. TAD/BC/450/08 dtd. 07/01/2011 the newly constituted council members will vary from 15-25 including the Chairman and Vice-Chairman depending upon the size of the population of that particular council out of which 2 would be govt. officials nominated directly by the govt. The person occupying constitutional and statutory position will not be eligible for election to council as member. A person may be elected as member for not more than two terms as at a stretch. The term of the office shall be 5 years unless dissolved under special cases. The term may be extended by one year by the govt. if circumstances so demand. In case of resignation by any member or the chairman, he/she may submit resignation to the chairman/vice-chairman respectively. The quorum shall be 8 (eight)/10 (ten) of elected members.
The govt. of Assam shall constitute an interim council by nomination, which shall continue till the council is constituted by election.
Process of Management : The Headquarters of the Dev. Councils shall be at capital of the state. The council shall have a Secretariat to transact its business and carry out its functions. The Chief Executive Officer in the rank of Secretary/ Joint Secretary to the Govt. of Assam and other officer & staff to assist the functioning of the Council Secretariat will be decided and deputed by the govt. depending on work load. The Dev. Councils have authority to utilize the services of the Sub-Divisional Welfare Officer or other Field Officers of the respective development department as and when necessary. In addition to that the Deputy Commissioner and Sub-Divisional Officer will also co-ordinate in implementing the functions and schemes of the Dev. Councils.
Fund for the Council : The govt. shall provide funds for Dev. Councils as Grant-in-Aid from State Plan or Non-Plan provisions in proportion to their population to meet the expenses of the Secretariat and to undertake development works. Over and above to it the councils may obtain grants from other sources including various organizations of the Govt. of India and international organizations subject to prior approval of the state govt. The form and manner of keeping the accounts may be on the guide-line of the Accountant General, Assam. The budget of estimated receipts and disbursements in each financial year and following years shall be prepared by the council and submit to the govt. in prescribed manner.
Functions of Development Council : The functions of the Development Councils will subject to the general policy of the Government- (i) Formulate integrated development plans for the Council area. (ii) Implement schemes and programmes for the development of the Council area. (iii) Select and approve the list of beneficiaries under various developmental schemes, sanction of the funds within its jurisdiction. (iv) Advise State Govt. in formulation of development policies for the socio-economic, cultural, educational, preservation and protection of ethnic language and art and monument of these communities. (v) Represent the concerned communities in the various development organization of the State Govt. (vi) Monitor implementation of the development programmes of the different departments taken up in the areas pre-dominantly inhabited by these communities. (vii) Assess development requirement of the community concerned and suggest formulation of the appropriate scheme for their upliftment. (viii) Undertake development programmes for socio-economic, cultural, educational development of these communities with the fund provided by the State Govt. (ix) Identify the problems of economic, educational and socio-backwardness of these communities and suggest appropriate developmental interventions for their upliftment. (x) Formulate schemes for economic, educational, cultural and ethnic upliftment. (xi) Undertake studies, surveys and research etc. with regard to socio-cultural, educational, economic aspects of these communities. (xii) Submit proposal to the State Govt. to seek fund from the Govt. of India for overall development of these communities. (xiii) The Councils shall take up the schemes of collective nature preferably infrastructure development providing benefit to the community at large. The Councils will give preference to all villages of that respective community while implementing the community development programmes and schemes.
The Founder Committee, looking after GDC activities and functions shown below :
1.
Shri Loknath Upadhyaya, Sonitpur
Chairman2.
Shri Ajay Subba, Tinsukia
Vice-Chairman3.
Dr. Jagannath Subedi, Marigaon
Member4.
Shri Roshan Raj Chetri, Golaghat
Member5.
Shri Ran Bahadur Chetri, Karbi Anglong
Member6.
Smt. Suman Subba, North Lakhimpur
Member7.
Shri Lil Bahadur Chetri, Ulubari, Guwahati
Member8.
Shri Chhabilal Sarma, Dhemaji
Member9.
Shri Padum Borailay, Marigaon
Member10.
Shri Narayan Upadhyaya, Udalguri
Member11.
Shri Padum Dangi, Baksa
Member12.
Shri Ganga Powdel, Udalguri
Member13.
Shri Arun Upadhyaya, Paltan Bazar, Guwahati
Member14.
Shri Ranjib Sarma, Marigaon
Member15.
Shri Mitralal Sarma, Baska
Member16.
Shri Purna Bahadur Chetri, Tinsukia
Member17.
Shri Dilliram Lama, Tinsukia
Member18.
Shri Bishnu Sarma, Tinsukia
Member19.
Shri Minraj Joshi, Birkusi, Guwahati
Member20.
Shri Nagen Chetri, Amsing, Jorabat
Member21.
Shri Bhaskar Dahal, Chirang
Member22.
Shri Pradip K.C., Kokrajhar
Member23.
Director WPT & BC, Assam
Member24.
Commissioner & Secretary, WPT & BC Deptt.
Member Secretary -
