PESA
- POLITY
News: Implement PESA in true spirit, say Odisha
tribals
What's
in the news?
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Tribals from 13 districts staged a massive
demonstration here on Tuesday demanding immediate implementation of Panchayat
Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act 1996.
PESA:
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Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to
the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 extends the provisions of Panchayats to the Fifth Schedule Areas.
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It ensured tribal self-rule for people living in scheduled areas of India.
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Other than Panchayats, Part IX, comprising Articles 243-243ZT of the
Constitution, contains provisions relating to Municipalities and Cooperative Societies.
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The PESA Act was based on the Bhuria Committee recommendations in
1995.
Scheduled
areas:
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Under the PESA Act, Scheduled Areas are
those referred to in Article 244(1),
which says that the provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the
Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The Fifth
Schedule provides for a range of special provisions for these areas.
Powers
to Gram Sabha under PESA:
1.Developmental:
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Consultation before land acquisition
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Prevent land alienation
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Power to enforce prohibition
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Prior approval of all developmental
projects
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Control over tribal sub-plan
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Power to issue utilization certificate for
developmental expenditure
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Selection of beneficiaries of poverty
alleviation and other schemes of individual benefits
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Control over institutions and
functionaries of social sectors.
2.Dispute
resolution as per traditional laws and customs:
Collective resolution of disputes on the basis of customs, traditional laws and
religious beliefs of tribal areas.
3.Ownership
and management of natural resources: Maintaining ownership of
local tribal community over water resources, common lands, minor forest
produce, minor minerals, etc. as well as effective implementation and
monitoring of related laws.
How
does the PESA Act work?
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The PESA Act was enacted to ensure self-governance through Gram Sabhas
(village assemblies) for people living in the Scheduled Areas.
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It recognises the right of tribal
communities, who are residents of the Scheduled Areas, to govern themselves
through their own systems of self-government and also acknowledges their
traditional rights over natural resources.
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The Act empowers Gram Sabhas to play a key
role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors.
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This includes the processes and personnel
who implement policies, exercising control over minor (non-timber) forest
resources, minor water bodies and minor minerals, managing local markets,
preventing land alienation and regulating intoxicants among other things.
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State governments are expected to amend
their respective Panchayati Raj Acts without making any law that would be
inconsistent with the mandate of PESA.
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Ten
states - Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and
Telangana - have notified Fifth Schedule areas that cover (partially or fully)
several districts in each of these states.
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After the PESA Act was enacted, the
central Ministry of Panchayati Raj circulated model PESA Rules. So far, six
states have notified these Rules, including Gujarat.