Implementation And Working Of PESA : Issues And Challenges

I. Introduction
India, the country’s unique feature is the
diverse culture among its people. In particular
it is one of the nations with hundreds of
ethnic groups and tribal communities. These
communities play a vital role in upholding the
country’s cultural heritage and occupying a
major part of Indian history. In the process of
understanding the historical aspects of such
tribal groups, the Government of India has made
various Constitutional provisions and other
welfare programmes for their upliftment. The 73rd
Constitutional amendment Act, 1992 enshrines
the provision of local self-governance by the
creation of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
This framework was applicable throughout the
country except the ten states mentioned under
Part IX of the Constitution of India. These ten
states are namely Andhra Pradesh, Telengana,
Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,
Odisha and Rajasthan2. Thus, the Government
of India enacted the Panchayat (Extension to the
Scheduled Areas) Act in the year 1996 to cover
the local governance in the above mentioned
Scheduled areas or Scheduled States with
respect to the tribal communities. From then, the
Government of India has been trying to amend
certain legislations which are in conflict with
this Act. The State Governments of certain states
have also been trying to submit their opinion
on the fact that the Act is not in lines with their
state’s subject laws. Therefore, the need of the
hour is to implement this Act by analyzing the
provisions and the conflicting issues.