What is the full form of BTC?

BTC: Bodo Territorial Council

BTC stands for Bodo Territorial Council. It is an autonomous district council for the Bodoland Territorial Region in India. It was created in February 2003. There are 40 elected members in BTC besides this it also has 6 additional members that are appointed by the Governor of Assam.

BTC was established as per the Amended Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution after a Memorandum of Settlement was signed between Govt. of India, Govt. of Assam and Bodo Liberation Tigers. It was created for the development of the BTC area and to preserve the land-rights and identity of the Bodos. It comprises four districts that include Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Baksa and Chirang. These districts are carved out of seven other districts.

The area that comes under the jurisdiction of BTC is known as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The main source of livelihood for the people of this region is agro-based business. Big industry and other job opportunities are very rare in this region.

The head of the BTC is a Speaker and the head of its executive committee is Chief Executive Member. The tenure of the last council was completed on 27 April 2020. The elections for the new council were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during this pandemic, it is under the Governor's rule until a new council is elected through elections.

Power of BTC:

• It has complete control over the officers and staff that work in the BTC area and can transfer them from one location to another location in the BTC area.
• It has the power to make appointments for the work profiles under its jurisdiction as per the rules of Govt. of Assam.
• Its executive functions are exercised through its Principal Secretary who is an officer of the rank equivalent to that of Secretary to Govt. of Assam.
• It also has executive, administrative and financial powers related to the subjects that are transferred to it such as Agriculture, Soil Conservation, Dairy Development, etc.

Objectives:

The agreement's goals are to establish the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), an independent self-governing authority within the State of Assam, and to grant it protection under the constitution under the Sixth Schedule. It also aims to accomplish the aspirations of the Bodo people in terms of economic development, education, and language preservation, as well as the preservation of their land rights and sociocultural and ethnic identity.

Area

The intended BTC region will include all 3082 villages and territories that the State Government will notify. Within six months of the agreement's signing, Assam's existing districts will be reorganised along the lines of the suggestion made by BLT, with the approval of the Delimitation Commission. The aforementioned villages and places will then be separated into four continuous districts.

Out of 95 villages and areas, a committee made up of one representative from each government of India, Assam, and BLT will decide by consensus whether to add new villages and areas to the BTC based on the requirement that at least 50% of the population be tribal.

Order and Law

In order to reinforce the police authority, the Government of Assam shall designate an IGP for 4 BTC districts, and the DIG Kokrajhar's jurisdiction shall also be expanded to include these 4 districts.

The growth of the Bodo language

The Indian government consents to favourably consider adding the Bodo language and Devnagri script to the Constitution's Eighth Schedule.

As long as Assamese and English are still used for official purposes, the Bodo language will serve as the BTC's official language.

Additional Development Package for BTC

Within the limits of its resources and other limitations, the State Government may offer-or permit the Council to offer-possible and sustainable extra incentives to draw private investment to the Council region. It would also help projects seeking outside funding.

The Government of India will give additional financial support to the State of Assam's regular plan assistance in the amount of Rs 100 crores per year for five years for projects to develop the socioeconomic infrastructure in BTC areas in order to speed up the region's development and meet people's aspirations. After five years, the size of the Corpus will be evaluated.