Bhubaneswar: In a move to empower tribal communities, the Odisha government plans to enforce the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act of 1996, as announced by Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Naik in the state Assembly on Tuesday.
Minister Naik made this announcement in response to a query from Pottangi MLA and Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam.
He affirmed that the government led by Mohan Charan Majhi is poised to enact the PESA Act for the advancement of tribal populations.
Criticizing the previous administration, he remarked that the BJD government had temporarily delegated collectors’ authority to sarpanches amid the COVID-19 pandemic, only to retract it later.
The current administration is set to implement the PESA Act, which will favour the tribal communities in Scheduled Areas.
It’s noteworthy that the PESA Act was established on December 24, 1996, to facilitate Tribal self-rule in these regions. The Act expanded panchayat provisions to the tribal zones of nine states with Fifth Schedule Areas, including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
The essence of the Act in the 5th Schedule tribal areas is to transfer power and authority to the Gram Sabha and Panchayats, emphasizing empowerment over mere delegation. The legislation instructs the state governments to confer powers and authority to enable Gram Sabhas and Panchayats to operate as institutions of local self-governance, particularly in areas such as enforcing the prohibition of intoxicants; managing minor forest produce; preventing land alienation and restoring unlawfully alienated land; overseeing village markets; and regulating money lending, among others.
