Question

In which of the following group of the States, PESA [Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act], 1996 is not enforceable?
1. Assam - Meghalaya - Tamil Nadu
2. Rajasthan - Telangana - Maharashtra
3. Himachal Pradesh - Gujarat - Chhattisgarh
4. Andhra Pradesh - Jharkhand - Odisha

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Assam - Meghalaya - Tamil Nadu

The correct answer is Assam - Meghalaya - Tamil Nadu.

• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration and control of Scheduled Areas as well as of Scheduled Tribes residing in any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
• “The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996” (PESA), extends Part IX of the Constitution with certain modifications and exceptions, to the Fifth Schedule Areas notified under article 244(1) of the Constitution.
• At present, Fifth Schedule Areas exist in 10 States Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana. 

 

• The mandate of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is to oversee the implementation of Part IX of the Constitution, the provision regarding District Planning Committee as per Article 243 ZD in Part IXA, and the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) in the Fifth Schedule Areas.
• The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992, which came into force w.e.f. 24th April 1993, inserted Part IX in the Constitution of India and accorded Panchayats a Constitutional status as institutions of local self-governance for rural India.
• Effective implementation of PESA will not only bring development but will also deepen democracy in Fifth Schedule Areas.
• There are many benefits of PESA-
  • It will enhance people’s participation in decision making. PESA will reduce alienation in tribal areas as they will have better control over the utilization of public resources.
  • PESA will reduce poverty and out-migration among tribal populations as they will have control and management of natural resources will improve their livelihoods and incomes.