Gorkhaland Territorial Administration
Also called: GTA · Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is a self-governing body for the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal. It came from a tripartite (three-party) agreement between the Union, the state and Gorkha leaders, signed on 18 July 2011, and a West Bengal Act of 2011. Its first elections were held in 2012. It replaced the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (1988). The GTA rests only on a state law. It is not a Sixth Schedule body, so it has no protection under the Constitution.
Example
In 2005, the hills were promised Sixth Schedule status, a case that appears in a Class 11 exercise. That promise was never made law, and the GTA was created instead. The demand for a separate Gorkhaland state continues.
Don't confuse with
- Sixth Schedule councils (e.g. the Bodoland Territorial Council): these are protected by the Constitution. The GTA can be changed by a West Bengal law alone.