The  Constitution  (Fifty-first  Amendment) Act, 1984 was  enacted  to
provide  for  reservation of seats in the House of the People for  the
Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh
and  also  for  reservation  of  seats for  Scheduled   Tribes  in  the
Legislative  Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya by suitably amending
articles  330  and  332.  Even though these States  are   predominantly
tribal  areas,  the underlying objective of the aforesaid Act  was  to
ensure  that the members of the Scheduled Tribes in these areas do not
fair  to secure a minimal representation because of their inability to
complete with the advanced sections of the people.

2.   The  Constitution  (Fifty-first Amendment) Act,  though  formally
enforced,  cannot be fully implemented unless parallel action is taken
to  determine the seats which are to be reserved for Scheduled  Tribes
in these areas.  The number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled  Tribes  in  the  Legislative Assembly of  any   State  under
article  332  of  the Constitution will have to be  determined   having
regard  to  the  provisions  of article 332(3)  of  the   Constitution.
However,  in  view  of the historical background with respect  to   the
areas  comprised  in  the   North-Eastern  States,  the   circumstances
obtaining  in these areas in the state of development of the Scheduled
Tribes  in  these  areas  and other  relevant   considerations,  it  is
considered  necessary to provide for special arrangements with  regard
to the reservation for Scheduled Tribes in these areas for a temporary
period  so  as  to facilitate easy transition of these  areas  to   the
normal  arrangements  as  envisaged  in   the   Constitution.   It  is,
therefore,  proposed to further amend article 332 of the  Constitution
for  making a temporary provision, until the re-adjustment of seats on
the basis of the first census after the year 2000 under article 170 of
the Constitution for these States, for the determination of the number
of seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

3.   The proposed amendment seeks to provide that if all the seats  in
the  Legislative  Assembly of such States in existence on the date  of
coming  into force of this Constitution Amendment Act are held by  the
members  of  the Scheduled Tribes, all the seats except one  shall  be
reserved  for  Scheduled Tribes and in any other case such  number  of
seats as bears to the total number of seats a proportion not less than
the  number  of  members  belonging to the  Scheduled   Tribes  in  the
existing  Assembly bears to the total number of seats in the  existing
Assembly.

4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above object.

NEW DELHI;                                           BUTA SINGH.

The 25th August, 1987.

THE CONSTITUTION (FIFTY-SEVENTH AMENDMENT)
                              ACT, 1987