Guwahati, Jan. 18: The Assam government today approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) to resolve the vexed Bodo problem, but failed to take any decision on the inclusion of 93 additional villages in the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
The state Cabinet, which met here this evening, reiterated its earlier decision that only those villages which have more than 50 per cent Bodo population or are contiguous will be considered for inclusion in the proposed BTC, government spokesman Ripun Bora told The Telegraph.
The government?s decision assumes significance as the ceasefire between the BLT and the Centre is expiring on January 21 and the rebel outfit has conveyed to both the Centre and the state government that it would not extend the ceasefire.
The formation of the BTC has been delayed as the state government was asked by the Centre for its opinion on the BLT?s demand for inclusion of 93 villages in addition to 3,070 villages to be included in the proposed administrative body under the modified Sixth Schedule.
The Centre had directed the state government on December 19 to ?positively? finalise the boundary of the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council to facilitate an early solution to the Bodo impasse.
The directive was issued after a tripartite meeting between its representatives, state government officials and BLT leaders in New Delhi. The BLT had earlier adopted a tough stand that the number of additional villages sought by them was non-negotiable and they would not agree to demarcation of the BTC boundary without their inclusion.
The BLT on January 11 raised visions of an early end to the row surrounding the formation of the proposed BTC with the outfit?s leadership accepting the all-party?s criteria on inclusion of disputed villages in the council area.
BLT vice-chairman Kamal Muchahari met chief minister Tarun Gogoi on January 11 and conveyed to him that the outfit, engaged in tripartite talks to resolve the vexed Bodo problem, was not averse to the criteria agreed to by political parties in yesterday?s all-party meeting for deciding the number of additional villages.
Muchahari also pointed out that the outfit had prepared the list of 93 villages on the basis of the same criteria. The all-party meeting convened by the state government on January 10 had reached a consensus that the villages which have more than 50 per cent Bodo population be considered for inclusion in the BTC.
The meeting also agreed that some villages with less than 50 per cent Bodo population may also be included for the sake of contiguity.