Forest, Adivasis and the Rule of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) in Jharkhand: A Critical Inquiry

Abstract

Adivasis have always lived in symbiosis with the forest for generations. In the recent two decades, it has been realized that it is only through the process of democratic decentralization sustainable development could be achieved. The present model of development augments the participation of people in local governance. In the post-colonial India, the government enacted a new law known as Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, popularly known as PESA. Jharkhand, which has been a home for adivasis, conducted its first panchayat election in 2010. Consequently, the next election was conducted in 2015, and in 2022, the third panchayat election is going to be held. Being a tribal dominated region, it is governed by the regulations of PESA. Though PESA has been projected as a progressive Act, however, it has not been successfully implemented. Lack of political willingness, political apathy, internal conflicts, lack of knowledge and awareness among people are some of the reasons for the failure of PESA in the region. For the people who lived in the forest, these laws essentially overturned their unstructured, undocumented and ‘symbiotic’ relationship with the land, rivers and forests. Under this backdrop, this article addresses the issue of local self-governance and the fate of PESA in Jharkhand. It aims to uncover the factors which are creating hindrances in the functioning of PESA in Jharkhand. This article seeks to unfold the struggle of the adivasis for the protection of their resources, livelihoods and their own lives.