Schedule Areas and Self-Governance: A Reality of Panchayati Raj Extension to Schedule Areas(PESA) Act,1996

Abstract

The term scheduled areas has yet to be spelled out with absolute clarity as it is not logically defined in the constitution of India. It has been rather expressed as ―those areas which the president of India by the order of his/her authority may proclaim as scheduled areas and regulated under the central Act. The Panchayati Raj ministry came up with some crucial initiatives between 2nd oct 2009 to 2nd oct 2010 and indicated this period as “year of Gram Sabha”. Writing about the failure and poor implementation of PESA, the secretary of MoPR lambasted all the PESA states. In accordance with the Left-Wing extremism rise in these states, and how they have been trying to deviate the locals, thwarting them to participate in the democratic process of the country. The tribal community constitute around nine percent of India’s population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs Govt. of India). Among the various legislative enactments provided by the state, the PESA Act 1996 is considered the most potent law supporting the community at large. States in particular Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have not yet mapped out the framework of the PESA rules. However, major concern is that the situation remains grim even after formulation of these rules in some states. Some states managed their rules but had poor outcomes when in it came to its implementation. This paper delves into the happenings and highlights the reality, issues and concerns around the PESA Act of 1996 with the help of various studies, research articles, books, journals and columns. this research paper is based on secondary sources. A combination of research design of qualitative content analysis (QCA) and narrative analysis has been used by the researcher in this.