In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the elections to the 30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), scheduled to be held this year, has been deferred for an indefinite period, officials said.
The term of the present council term will expire on May 17.
The state government has decided to defer the TTAADC elections, 2020 for an indefinite period, till further notification, considering the impending and alarming situation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tribal Welfare Director N Darlong said in an order on Thursday.
The state government in a notification on February 11 appointed the state election commissioner as the election commissioner for the autonomous district council.
...WHO has declared the coronavirus epidemic as pandemic and the Government of India has declared COVID-19 epidemic as a notified disaster, the order said.
The state government has taken numerous preventive measures such as the closure of international boundaries with Bangladesh, prohibition on the movement of trains/interstate buses, banning mass gathering, closure of cinema halls, schools, colleges, swimming pools and gymnasiums, keeping in view the importance of social distancing and isolation measures, for containment of the spread of COVID-19, it said.
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The order also said it would not be possible to hold the elections unless the situation becomes normal.
The TTAADC came into being under the sixth schedule of the constitution in 1985.
Of the 30-member council, two seats are nominated by the governor of the state as per the advice of the state government.