SUNDAY, 28 AUGUST 2011 11:00 WRITTEN BY HILLMAN - THE ANALYST
The Fifth Schedule identity of Darjeeling District ensures Statehood.
Apropos Bhawani Bagdas, WBCS (retd) Kalimpong, whose article of 14 Aug 2011 “Restoration of the Darjeeling Zilla Parishad and its constitutional bottleneck” with an intent to explain the working and implications of the Panchayats in relation to the States overlooking the fact that there are certain areas in some of the States, where in fact the administrative setup under Part IX (The Panchayats) and Part IXA (The Municipalities) are not applicable at all. In fact the succeeding Part X (The Scheduled and Tribal Areas) are states and territories within certain States where Part IX and Part IXA does not apply under the provisions of the V [Article 244 (1)] and VI Schedules [Article 244 (2) & 275(1)].
It is the understanding of the above difference which becomes a pointer to display that the assertions submitted by B. Bagdas in his article explaining the various aspects of Article 243 B - Constitution of Panchayats (1) as well as Article 243 N - Continuation of existing laws and Panchayats, require to be read and seen in the broader framework of the Constitution in which Darjeeling District has been provided with a safeguard measure of administration as a Partially Excluded Area (PEA). The administrative setup of PEA has been defined in the Constitution of India within the provisions of the V Schedule. Unless this basic instruction of the Constitution is clearly understood, reference to Panchayats and Municipalities in these areas (Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas) [E&PEA] is legally unsound, for the simple reason these areas are outside the purview of Centre and State Legislations.
A brief constitutional history as to why Centre and State Legislations are applicable to the E&PEA only under certain preconditioned notification is elaborated in the Scheduled Districts Act 1874 under Section 5 & 5 A which states, “any law made by the British Parliament could not be enforced in such Scheduled Districts or could not be applied to the people residing in such Districts”. This is further elaborated by B Shiva Rao, “the executive had power to excluded the Schedules Districts from the normal operation of ordinary laws and give them such protection as they might have required”
This refers to Section 52 (A) in the Govt. of India Act 1919 inserted from the Govt. of India Act 1915, quote, “to provide for declaration of any territory in British India to be a backward tract, and for declaration that no act of Indian Legislature should apply to such tract, or any such act should apply with such exception or modification as maybe specified in the declaration”.
For purposes of administration, the District normally referred to as Backward Area was classified as Backward Tracts in 1870, and described as such in the Scheduled Districts Act of 1874 (also called Local Laws Extent Act), reverted back to Backward Tracts in 1929.
Implication of Backward Tracts implied by the Govt. of India Acts 1915 / 1919 Section 52 A (1) and 52 A (2) which provisions were transferred and phrased as ‘Excluded’ in the Govt. of India Act 1935 “Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas”. Section 52A (1) is read as Section 91 ‘Excluded Areas and Partially Excluded Areas’ and Section 52A (2) read as Section 92 (1,2 &3) ‘Administration of Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas’.
During the Drafting of the Constitution 1946-48 the Constituent Assembly of India instituted an Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas chaired by Vallabhhai Patel appointed Sub Committees to prepare schemes for the administration of (i).North Western Tribal Areas, (ii).the North Eastern Tribal Areas and (iii).the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas.
The first became redundant in 1947 as a result of the partition of India when west Pakistan was formed composing the inclusion of the North Western Tribal Areas
The two remaining were suitably provided in the Constitution of India within the provisions of the (1). Fifth Schedule (ie. the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas) in certain Provinces of India outside Assam, and (2). Sixth Schedule (North Eastern Tribal Areas) of Assam Province.
“The draft of the Fifth Schedule prepared by the Drafting Committee relating to the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes consisted of seven parts. While Part I contained general provisions, Part II was meant for the States of Madras, Bombay, West Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces and Berar, and Orissa. Part III was meant the State of United provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) while Part IV contained provisions for the State of East Punjab. (…) However, in the draft Fifth Schedule no such provisions was made for the States of United provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and West Bengal, except only that the Governor may make regulations so as to prohibit the transfer of land in a Scheduled Area by a any tribal to a non tribal. (…) while the rules to be made under clause 6(2) of the draft Fifth Schedule applicable to the States of Madras, Bombay, West Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces and Berar, and Orissa were not proposed to have such force”
“When the Constituent Assembly took up the said draft Fifth Schedule for consideration on 5/9/1949 Dr.Ambedkar moved another draft Fifth Schedule in place of the one drafted by the Drafting Committee, which was simpler in form and uniform in its application to all the Scheduled Areas. The draft Fifth Schedule moved by Dr.Ambedkar was debated in the Constituent Assembly clause by clause, before it was finally accepted”.
The Fifth Schedule now present in the Constitution is the accepted version moved by Dr. Ambedkar in which the safeguard for Darjeeling District and the “hill people” referred by the Thakkar Sub Committee Interim Report August 1947 is in reference to the Partially Excluded Area protective administrative requirements for Darjeeling District provided by law.
This is to support the idea since the District is provided safeguard within the Fifth Schedule a separate administrative body known as Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) was established in 1952-56 by the State under instruction from the President and Governor of India. The flaw in this body seems to be the inclusion of all the tribes of West Bengal in TAC, whereas it is perceived the body was a exclusive right of the hill people of Darjeeling whose separate system of administration was discussed by the founding fathers as a product of Partially Excluded Area (Govt. of India Act 1935).
The above comprehensive constitutional history of Darjeeling is intentionally imparted in order to explain the legality of the background appreciating Darjeeling District provided safeguards within the provisions of the Fifth Schedule- which understanding is the outcome of the administrative setup implied for Partially Excluded Areas : which again is a derivation of the reference to Backward Tracts. In the present day understanding of the Constitution the backward Tracts is understood to mean the following contents, Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Area and Tribal Area whose political rights are bounded within the framework of the V and VI Schedules.
So Bagdas’s analogies in reference to the various Articles of the Constitution in respect of Darjeeling District require to be pictured against the backdrop of the provisions of the V Schedule in which Darjeeling District is provided by safeguards within the parameters of constitutional legality ie. the V Schedule.
Eminent legal experts have often referred to the constituents of the V and VI Schedules as constitutions within the Constitution of India itself. Hence all leeways are opened as channels of providing safe measures of safeguard for the inhabitants of people occupying territories within the V and VI Schedules.
Therefore articulating Bagdas’s reference to Article 243 B (1), 243 N and Section 185 A (1) (2) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act 1973 are sound and valid in applying in formulating the administrative procedure for any part of Darjeeling District, which was applied to DGHC in 1988 and still functioning till its repeal again by the enactment of another State law incorporating GTA as agreed recently.
The above legal references are incomplete if seen by themselves but require to be reflected as originating from Article 243 M and Article 243 ZC, both claiming as “Parts not to apply to certain Areas”. This feature has immense importance in having incorporated the features of these Articles into the context of Darjeeling District in creating DGHC on basis of Article 244 (1) Scheduled Tribes only, and not as Scheduled Area or Tribal Area.
Text of “Art. 243 ZC (2). Nothing in this part shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the DGHC constituted under any law for the time being in force for the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal.
Text of “Art. 243 ZC (3).Notwithstanding anything in this constitution Parliament may, by law, extend the provision of this part to the Scheduled Areas and the Tribal Areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and modifications as maybe specified in such law, and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for the purpose of Article 368”.
Article 243 M 3 (a) and (b) clearly indicates the Part IX The Panchayats, “for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being in force”. This is to assume that the role of the Panchayats was incorporated into the DGHC itself. The Panchayats existed in the DGHC areas only at the village gram panchayat level under the West Bengal Panchayat Act 1973 under Section 185 (1) (2) under State law.
The creation of Gram Panchayats within the DGHC area in 1973 seems to have created a bone of contention in regarding the division of jurisdiction with conflict of interest arising claims and counter claims by either of the bodies. Although the creation of Gram Panchayat within the DGHC may have been projected with good intention in view by the state govt. but it seems to have created a sense of divide between the two bodies in implementing economic and development programs.
In whatever context Bagdas has referred Article 243 D, “implied that the restored Zilla Parishad shall have legal jurisdiction over the whole Panchayat areas in the District”, seems to be totally misapplied considering the fact that the referred Article 243 D: ‘Reservation of Seats’ (a) the Scheduled Castes and (b) The Scheduled Tribes’. The misplacement is obvious by the context of the same Article.
In regard to his contention that the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad “has been functioning as an unconstitutional body for more than seventeen years” is a fairly tall charge if it is proved so. However this writer feels Bagdas is confused not realising Darjeeling District was legally fragmented by creation of 1988 DGHC (Article 243ZC) administration in 1988 excluding Siliguri subdivision which thereby required to be administered under the Panchayats and Municipalities as per the State laws.
If reasons are to be applied, it appears DGHC in application requires satisfying the provisions of TAC, which happens to be the constitutional program of the V Schedule. In a similar vein GTA is another version of TAC. It is in this background, in order to demand a state it is imperative the Darjeeling “hill people”, at least some of the communities required to be relisted as Scheduled Tribes thereby regaining the Scheduled Area status, “areas predominantly habited by aboriginals in the provinces other than Assam” (P Chakraborty’s Fifth and Sixth Schedules to the Constitution of India).
The term ‘Scheduled Areas’ has been defined in the Indian Constitution as “such areas as the President may be order declare to be Scheduled Areas”. Para 6 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution prescribes following procedure for scheduling, de-scheduling and alteration of Scheduled Areas (Part C- 6.Scheduled Areas (1), (2: [a-d]).
Incident to Part C is Part D 7: Amendment of the Schedule (1) and (2):’No such law as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of articles 368’. This is important in realizing the fact that the amendment of the Schedule (being under the purview of the President) does not require the invocation of Article 368 (power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof) normally required for Article 368(2c) : Any of the list in the Seventh Schedule (cif. List I The Union; II The States: and III The Concurrent List). In the case of Darjeeling District in West Bengal reference will be the States.
In fact the reader is further being acquainted to the realisation certain V Schedule areas were experimented with a different setup known as PESA (The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 No. 40 of 1996. “PESA mandated the states to devolve certain political, administrative and fiscal powers to local governments elected by the communities (whether tribal or non-tribal). PESA did not amend the Fifth Schedule. After a decade, it is apparent that PESA is not achieving that object. On the contrary, blatant violation of tribal interests and the reluctance (in some cases, sheer procrastination) of the state administrations to cede authority have often compelled tribes in the Fifth Schedule Area to reassert their identity and right violently”.
The creation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in 2000 basically through tribal political movements preceded the revision of the National tribal policy, and the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (recognition of Forest Rights) Act Dec 2006, grants tribals some measure of ownership and in forest lands and produce for the first time – emphasize that tribal rights are increasingly figuring as a prominent national concern.
As per the recommendation of Prof. B.K.Roy Burman, Chairman, Commission for Review of Social and Environmental Sector Policies, Plans and Programmes (CRESP) constituted by the Govt. of Sikkim, vide Notification No. 73/HOME/2005 dated Dec 01, 2005 has recommended in their Executive Report 1.2 (iv). Recommendation of remaining ethnic communities like Kirat Khambu Rai, Gurung, Mangar, Sunwar, Thami, Newar and Bhujel to be declared as Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim.
It is realized this recommendation could be implemented in Sikkim after Census 2011. Thereafter the same application should follow suit in West Bengal thereby listing the corresponding seven communities in West Bengal too as the hill people of Darjeeling District are recognized as Sikkimese/Bhutanese having originated from these two countries since their accession to British Govt. 1835/50/61 -2011 and 1865- 2007 respectively now under the President of India in the V Schedule. s
It is highly probable after the seven hill communities are listed as Scheduled Tribes, the President may declare Darjeeling District as a Scheduled Area and may even convert certain GTA areas as such which will pave the final road to a new state comprising Darjeeling District (entire District except the area of the Siliguri Assembly Constituency) and most of Jalpaiguri District (comprising the 11 Dooars).
The above is a future reality arrived while unfolding the constitutional history of Darjeeling District and Dooars and their formal incorporation into the Constitution of India
Source: http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/main-news/general/3419-the-fifth-schedule-identity-of-darjeeling-district-ensures-statehood.html
The Fifth Schedule identity of Darjeeling District ensures Statehood.
It is the understanding of the above difference which becomes a pointer to display that the assertions submitted by B. Bagdas in his article explaining the various aspects of Article 243 B - Constitution of Panchayats (1) as well as Article 243 N - Continuation of existing laws and Panchayats, require to be read and seen in the broader framework of the Constitution in which Darjeeling District has been provided with a safeguard measure of administration as a Partially Excluded Area (PEA). The administrative setup of PEA has been defined in the Constitution of India within the provisions of the V Schedule. Unless this basic instruction of the Constitution is clearly understood, reference to Panchayats and Municipalities in these areas (Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas) [E&PEA] is legally unsound, for the simple reason these areas are outside the purview of Centre and State Legislations.
A brief constitutional history as to why Centre and State Legislations are applicable to the E&PEA only under certain preconditioned notification is elaborated in the Scheduled Districts Act 1874 under Section 5 & 5 A which states, “any law made by the British Parliament could not be enforced in such Scheduled Districts or could not be applied to the people residing in such Districts”. This is further elaborated by B Shiva Rao, “the executive had power to excluded the Schedules Districts from the normal operation of ordinary laws and give them such protection as they might have required”
This refers to Section 52 (A) in the Govt. of India Act 1919 inserted from the Govt. of India Act 1915, quote, “to provide for declaration of any territory in British India to be a backward tract, and for declaration that no act of Indian Legislature should apply to such tract, or any such act should apply with such exception or modification as maybe specified in the declaration”.
For purposes of administration, the District normally referred to as Backward Area was classified as Backward Tracts in 1870, and described as such in the Scheduled Districts Act of 1874 (also called Local Laws Extent Act), reverted back to Backward Tracts in 1929.
Implication of Backward Tracts implied by the Govt. of India Acts 1915 / 1919 Section 52 A (1) and 52 A (2) which provisions were transferred and phrased as ‘Excluded’ in the Govt. of India Act 1935 “Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas”. Section 52A (1) is read as Section 91 ‘Excluded Areas and Partially Excluded Areas’ and Section 52A (2) read as Section 92 (1,2 &3) ‘Administration of Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas’.
During the Drafting of the Constitution 1946-48 the Constituent Assembly of India instituted an Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas chaired by Vallabhhai Patel appointed Sub Committees to prepare schemes for the administration of (i).North Western Tribal Areas, (ii).the North Eastern Tribal Areas and (iii).the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas.
The first became redundant in 1947 as a result of the partition of India when west Pakistan was formed composing the inclusion of the North Western Tribal Areas
The two remaining were suitably provided in the Constitution of India within the provisions of the (1). Fifth Schedule (ie. the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas) in certain Provinces of India outside Assam, and (2). Sixth Schedule (North Eastern Tribal Areas) of Assam Province.
“The draft of the Fifth Schedule prepared by the Drafting Committee relating to the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes consisted of seven parts. While Part I contained general provisions, Part II was meant for the States of Madras, Bombay, West Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces and Berar, and Orissa. Part III was meant the State of United provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) while Part IV contained provisions for the State of East Punjab. (…) However, in the draft Fifth Schedule no such provisions was made for the States of United provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and West Bengal, except only that the Governor may make regulations so as to prohibit the transfer of land in a Scheduled Area by a any tribal to a non tribal. (…) while the rules to be made under clause 6(2) of the draft Fifth Schedule applicable to the States of Madras, Bombay, West Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces and Berar, and Orissa were not proposed to have such force”
“When the Constituent Assembly took up the said draft Fifth Schedule for consideration on 5/9/1949 Dr.Ambedkar moved another draft Fifth Schedule in place of the one drafted by the Drafting Committee, which was simpler in form and uniform in its application to all the Scheduled Areas. The draft Fifth Schedule moved by Dr.Ambedkar was debated in the Constituent Assembly clause by clause, before it was finally accepted”.
The Fifth Schedule now present in the Constitution is the accepted version moved by Dr. Ambedkar in which the safeguard for Darjeeling District and the “hill people” referred by the Thakkar Sub Committee Interim Report August 1947 is in reference to the Partially Excluded Area protective administrative requirements for Darjeeling District provided by law.
This is to support the idea since the District is provided safeguard within the Fifth Schedule a separate administrative body known as Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) was established in 1952-56 by the State under instruction from the President and Governor of India. The flaw in this body seems to be the inclusion of all the tribes of West Bengal in TAC, whereas it is perceived the body was a exclusive right of the hill people of Darjeeling whose separate system of administration was discussed by the founding fathers as a product of Partially Excluded Area (Govt. of India Act 1935).
The above comprehensive constitutional history of Darjeeling is intentionally imparted in order to explain the legality of the background appreciating Darjeeling District provided safeguards within the provisions of the Fifth Schedule- which understanding is the outcome of the administrative setup implied for Partially Excluded Areas : which again is a derivation of the reference to Backward Tracts. In the present day understanding of the Constitution the backward Tracts is understood to mean the following contents, Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Area and Tribal Area whose political rights are bounded within the framework of the V and VI Schedules.
So Bagdas’s analogies in reference to the various Articles of the Constitution in respect of Darjeeling District require to be pictured against the backdrop of the provisions of the V Schedule in which Darjeeling District is provided by safeguards within the parameters of constitutional legality ie. the V Schedule.
Eminent legal experts have often referred to the constituents of the V and VI Schedules as constitutions within the Constitution of India itself. Hence all leeways are opened as channels of providing safe measures of safeguard for the inhabitants of people occupying territories within the V and VI Schedules.
Therefore articulating Bagdas’s reference to Article 243 B (1), 243 N and Section 185 A (1) (2) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act 1973 are sound and valid in applying in formulating the administrative procedure for any part of Darjeeling District, which was applied to DGHC in 1988 and still functioning till its repeal again by the enactment of another State law incorporating GTA as agreed recently.
The above legal references are incomplete if seen by themselves but require to be reflected as originating from Article 243 M and Article 243 ZC, both claiming as “Parts not to apply to certain Areas”. This feature has immense importance in having incorporated the features of these Articles into the context of Darjeeling District in creating DGHC on basis of Article 244 (1) Scheduled Tribes only, and not as Scheduled Area or Tribal Area.
Text of “Art. 243 ZC (2). Nothing in this part shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the DGHC constituted under any law for the time being in force for the hill areas of the district of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal.
Text of “Art. 243 ZC (3).Notwithstanding anything in this constitution Parliament may, by law, extend the provision of this part to the Scheduled Areas and the Tribal Areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and modifications as maybe specified in such law, and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for the purpose of Article 368”.
Article 243 M 3 (a) and (b) clearly indicates the Part IX The Panchayats, “for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being in force”. This is to assume that the role of the Panchayats was incorporated into the DGHC itself. The Panchayats existed in the DGHC areas only at the village gram panchayat level under the West Bengal Panchayat Act 1973 under Section 185 (1) (2) under State law.
The creation of Gram Panchayats within the DGHC area in 1973 seems to have created a bone of contention in regarding the division of jurisdiction with conflict of interest arising claims and counter claims by either of the bodies. Although the creation of Gram Panchayat within the DGHC may have been projected with good intention in view by the state govt. but it seems to have created a sense of divide between the two bodies in implementing economic and development programs.
In whatever context Bagdas has referred Article 243 D, “implied that the restored Zilla Parishad shall have legal jurisdiction over the whole Panchayat areas in the District”, seems to be totally misapplied considering the fact that the referred Article 243 D: ‘Reservation of Seats’ (a) the Scheduled Castes and (b) The Scheduled Tribes’. The misplacement is obvious by the context of the same Article.
In regard to his contention that the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad “has been functioning as an unconstitutional body for more than seventeen years” is a fairly tall charge if it is proved so. However this writer feels Bagdas is confused not realising Darjeeling District was legally fragmented by creation of 1988 DGHC (Article 243ZC) administration in 1988 excluding Siliguri subdivision which thereby required to be administered under the Panchayats and Municipalities as per the State laws.
If reasons are to be applied, it appears DGHC in application requires satisfying the provisions of TAC, which happens to be the constitutional program of the V Schedule. In a similar vein GTA is another version of TAC. It is in this background, in order to demand a state it is imperative the Darjeeling “hill people”, at least some of the communities required to be relisted as Scheduled Tribes thereby regaining the Scheduled Area status, “areas predominantly habited by aboriginals in the provinces other than Assam” (P Chakraborty’s Fifth and Sixth Schedules to the Constitution of India).
The term ‘Scheduled Areas’ has been defined in the Indian Constitution as “such areas as the President may be order declare to be Scheduled Areas”. Para 6 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution prescribes following procedure for scheduling, de-scheduling and alteration of Scheduled Areas (Part C- 6.Scheduled Areas (1), (2: [a-d]).
Incident to Part C is Part D 7: Amendment of the Schedule (1) and (2):’No such law as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of articles 368’. This is important in realizing the fact that the amendment of the Schedule (being under the purview of the President) does not require the invocation of Article 368 (power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof) normally required for Article 368(2c) : Any of the list in the Seventh Schedule (cif. List I The Union; II The States: and III The Concurrent List). In the case of Darjeeling District in West Bengal reference will be the States.
In fact the reader is further being acquainted to the realisation certain V Schedule areas were experimented with a different setup known as PESA (The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 No. 40 of 1996. “PESA mandated the states to devolve certain political, administrative and fiscal powers to local governments elected by the communities (whether tribal or non-tribal). PESA did not amend the Fifth Schedule. After a decade, it is apparent that PESA is not achieving that object. On the contrary, blatant violation of tribal interests and the reluctance (in some cases, sheer procrastination) of the state administrations to cede authority have often compelled tribes in the Fifth Schedule Area to reassert their identity and right violently”.
The creation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in 2000 basically through tribal political movements preceded the revision of the National tribal policy, and the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (recognition of Forest Rights) Act Dec 2006, grants tribals some measure of ownership and in forest lands and produce for the first time – emphasize that tribal rights are increasingly figuring as a prominent national concern.
As per the recommendation of Prof. B.K.Roy Burman, Chairman, Commission for Review of Social and Environmental Sector Policies, Plans and Programmes (CRESP) constituted by the Govt. of Sikkim, vide Notification No. 73/HOME/2005 dated Dec 01, 2005 has recommended in their Executive Report 1.2 (iv). Recommendation of remaining ethnic communities like Kirat Khambu Rai, Gurung, Mangar, Sunwar, Thami, Newar and Bhujel to be declared as Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim.
It is realized this recommendation could be implemented in Sikkim after Census 2011. Thereafter the same application should follow suit in West Bengal thereby listing the corresponding seven communities in West Bengal too as the hill people of Darjeeling District are recognized as Sikkimese/Bhutanese having originated from these two countries since their accession to British Govt. 1835/50/61 -2011 and 1865- 2007 respectively now under the President of India in the V Schedule. s
It is highly probable after the seven hill communities are listed as Scheduled Tribes, the President may declare Darjeeling District as a Scheduled Area and may even convert certain GTA areas as such which will pave the final road to a new state comprising Darjeeling District (entire District except the area of the Siliguri Assembly Constituency) and most of Jalpaiguri District (comprising the 11 Dooars).
The above is a future reality arrived while unfolding the constitutional history of Darjeeling District and Dooars and their formal incorporation into the Constitution of India
Source: http://www.darjeelingtimes.com/main-news/general/3419-the-fifth-schedule-identity-of-darjeeling-district-ensures-statehood.html