Various electoral parties in Gujarat are trying to woo the tribals by promising strict implementation of the Panchayat Upabandhan (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996.
State PESA rules were notified in Gujarat in January 2017 and they were implemented in 4,503 gram sabhas under 2,584 gram panchayats of 50 tribal taluks in eight districts of the state.
However the Act is still not implemented in letter and spirit.
Six states (Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra) have enacted PESA laws and if these rules are implemented, Chhattisgarh will become the seventh state to implement them.
PESA Act:
The PESA Act was enacted in 1996 “to extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas”.
Part IX of Article 243-243ZT of the Constitution contains provisions relating to Municipalities and Co-operative Societies.
Provision:
The Scheduled Areas under this Act are those referred to in Article 244(1) according to which the provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the Scheduled Tribes in the Scheduled Areas in the States other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
The Fifth Schedule provides a series of special provisions for these areas.
Ten states—Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana—have notified Fifth Schedule Areas that cover several districts (partially or fully) in each of these states. ) covers.
Purpose:
Ensuring self-government through Gram Sabhas for the people living in the scheduled areas.
It legally recognizes the right of tribal communities, residents of scheduled areas to govern themselves through their own systems of self-government. It acknowledges their traditional rights over natural resources.
Empowers Gram Sabhas to play an important role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors.
Importance of Gram Sabha in PESA Act:
Democratic Decentralisation: PESA empowers Gram Sabhas to play an important role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors. This management includes the following:
Water, forest, resources on land.
Minor Forest Produce.
Human Resources: The processes and personnel who implement policies.
Management of local markets.
Preventing land segregation.
Controlling narcotics.
Identity Protection:
Powers of village councils include maintenance of cultural identity and tradition, control over schemes affecting tribals and control of natural resources within the area of a village.
Resolving conflicts:
Thus the PESA Act enables the Gram Sabhas to maintain their rights and the safeguards of the environment against external or internal conflicts.
Public Watchdog:
The Gram Sabha will have powers to monitor and prohibit the manufacture, transport, sale and consumption of narcotic substances within the limits of their village.
Issues related to PESA:
Partial implementation:
State governments should enact state laws for their scheduled areas in accordance with this national law.
As a result PESA has been partially implemented.
Partial implementation has distorted self-government in tribal areas such as Jharkhand.
Administrative Constraints:
Many experts have claimed that PESA did not succeed due to lack of clarity, legal weakness, bureaucratic apathy, lack of political will, resistance to changes in the hierarchy of power, etc.
Paper follows instead of reality:
Social audits conducted across the state also pointed out that in fact, various development plans were being approved by the Gram Sabha only on paper, in fact no meeting was held to discuss and decide.
Tribal Policy of India:
Most of the tribes in India are collectively recognized as ‘Scheduled Tribes’ under Article 342.
Part X of the Indian Constitution: The right to self-determination has been guaranteed by Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) contained in the Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
Provisions have been made in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution for the administration and control of Scheduled and Tribal Areas and in the Sixth Schedule for the administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 or PESA Act.
Tribal Panchsheel Policy.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 deals with the rights of forest dwelling communities to land and other resources.
No Comments