To help scheduled tribes (STs) and scheduled areas, the government enacted the PESA Act. Let’s see what the purpose of this act is. The provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act is the most influential component of lawmaking, that can vary the quality of life of tribal people living in scheduled places by realizing their rights to natural aid.
Even though the national government has taken many measures to confirm that the Act gets enforced in its totality, the lack of steps taken by the state administrations becomes clear. The central government should quickly take measures to close loopholes in prominent legislation, pursued by a firm command from the political administration to observe the constitutional order.
Objectives Of The Act
The characteristics (or the provisions) of the Act are as follows:
- A state legislation shall sync with the conventional law, social and religious conventions, and traditional leadership practices of community aid on the panchayats that may make.
- A village shall typically consist of a residence or a group of residencies incorporating a community and handling its affairs following rules and traditions.
- Every village shall have a gram sabha (village council) comprising individuals whose names are contained in the electoral signups for the panchayat at the village tier.
- Every gram sabha shall be skilled in protecting and maintaining the people’s practices and traditions, their cultural essence, community aids, and the customary methods of conflict resolution.
Every Gram Sabha Shall…
- Support of the projects, agendas, and schemes for social and economic expansion before such projects, programs, and tasks are taken up for execution by the panchayat at the village tier.
- Be accountable for the designation or appointment of persons as heirs under poverty relief and other schemes.
- As per the panchayati raj system laid down under the Act, every panchayat shall need to receive from the gram sabha a certificate of the utilization of reserves by that panchayat for the projects, programs, and schemes, at the village tier.
- The reservation of seats at every panchayat in the scheduled zones shall be in ratio to the residents of the communities in that panchayat, for whom reservation gets desired as given under the constitution.
- The state government may appoint individuals belonging to such STs, which have no representation in the panchayat at the middle level or the panchayat at the community level. But such nomination shall not surpass one-tenth of the total members to be selected in that panchayat.
- The gram sabha or the panchayats at the suitable level, shall be conferred before purchasing land in the scheduled sites for development schemes, and before re-settling or rehabilitating individuals influenced by such schemes in the scheduled sites.
- Planning and administration of insignificant water bodies in the scheduled locations shall get assigned to panchayats at the suitable tier.
- The suggestions of the gram sabha or the panchayats shall be made compulsory, before assigning a prospecting license or mining lease for minor minerals, in the scheduled locations at the suitable level.
- The prior proposal of the gram sabha or the panchayats at the suitable tier shall be made compulsory for the assistance of accommodation for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction.
- The state legislations that may grant panchayats, with management and control as may be required to allow them to serve as associations of self-government, shall contain precautions to guarantee that panchayats at the higher tier do not carry the management and control of any panchayat at the lower tier or of the gram sabha.
- The state legislature shall try to follow the practice of the sixth schedule to the constitution while developing the executive engagements in the panchayats at district tiers in the scheduled places. As per the PESA act in full form, it shows the involvement of panchayats in scheduled regions.
- Any requirement of any law (relating to panchayats in the scheduled areas) that is incompatible with this Act’s conditions shall discontinue being in force at the expiry of one year from the date on which this Act obtains the approval of the president. However, all the panchayats existing presently before such date shall persist till the expiry of their period unless disbanded by the state legislature sooner.
Conclusion
The state government should pursue the policy issued by the central government to comprise changes in the state Acts offered by state-level study reports.
The government should also take reasonable steps to amend state statutes that clash with the conditions of the PESA Act; and take initiatives to improve the ability of the government machinery and stakeholders, who play a crucial role in the actual execution of the Act at the base tier.
Furthermore, despite devolving statutory authorities to the gram sabha and panchayats, no budget or administrators have been repositioned to the lower tier management.