Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act 1996 was meant to give Fifth Schedule areas a constitutionally-backed regime of tribal self-rule. Evaluate its implementation.
Subtopic: Governance · Government Policies & Interventions
How to structure your answer
Introduction: The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 was enacted on 24 December 1996 to extend Part IX of the Constitution to the Fifth Schedule areas across 10 States, following the Bhuria Committee Report 1995.
Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory architecture — Gram Sabha as primary unit of self-government, mandatory consultation on land acquisition and minor minerals, ownership of minor forest produce, control over money-lenders and intoxicants; (ii) implementation gap — only six of the ten Fifth Schedule States have notified PESA Rules (Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha); (iii) judicial corrective — Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) on tribal land alienation, and Niyamgiri case (Orissa Mining Corporation v. Union of India, 2013) on Gram Sabha consent for forest diversion.
Way forward / Conclusion: Notify PESA Rules in all Fifth Schedule States, statutory enforcement of Gram Sabha consent under Section 4(d) PESA read with Section 6 Forest Rights Act 2006, and convergence with PM-JANMAN are the steps to operationalise tribal self-rule.
Written within the word limit
225 words · target 250 words · 14 min
Introduction:
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996, enacted 24 December 1996 on the Bhuria Committee's 1995 recommendation, extended Part IX of the Constitution to Fifth Schedule areas across ten States to operationalise Article 244 tribal self-rule.
Statutory architecture: Section 4(d) makes the Gram Sabha competent over community resources; Section 4(i) mandates consultation on land acquisition; Sections 4(k), 4(l) and 4(m) vest ownership of minor forest produce, control over minor minerals and management of intoxicants and money-lenders in tribal communities — a transfer rare in Indian local government law.
Implementation gap: Only six of ten Fifth Schedule States have notified PESA Rules (Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana); Chhattisgarh notified in 2022 while Gujarat, Jharkhand and Odisha remain pending. Where rules exist, Gram Sabha consent is often diluted by parallel revenue and forest authorities.
Judicial corrective: Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) barred alienation of tribal land to non-tribal mining lessees; Orissa Mining Corporation v. Union of India (2013) — the Niyamgiri ruling — read PESA with Section 6 of the Forest Rights Act 2006 to make Gram Sabha consent on forest diversion judicially enforceable, converting consultation into consent in the Fifth Schedule context.
Way forward / Conclusion:
Notify PESA Rules in all Fifth Schedule States, statutorily enforce Gram Sabha consent reading Section 4(d) PESA with Section 6 FRA, and converge PM-JANMAN saturation delivery with rights-recognition to make tribal self-rule operational rather than aspirational.
What an examiner expects to see
- PESA Act 1996 — enacted 24 December 1996
- Bhuria Committee Report 1995
- Section 4(d) — Gram Sabha competence on community resources
- Section 4(i) — mandatory consultation on land acquisition
- Section 4(k)(l)(m) — ownership of minor forest produce, minor minerals
- Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997)
- Orissa Mining Corporation v. Union of India (2013) — Niyamgiri
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997)
- Niyamgiri Gram Sabha consent (2013)
- Maharashtra PESA Rules 2014
- Chhattisgarh PESA Rules 2022
- PM-JANMAN scheme 2023 convergence