Madhya Pradesh has notified its PESA Rules on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas on 15th November, 2022.
- At the State Level Janjatiya Gaurav Divas Sammelan at Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mangubhai Patel handed over the first copy of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act) Manual to the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu.
About PESA Act
- The PESA Act, now under implementation in Madhya Pradesh, will empower the Gram Sabhas to take decision on the rules and regulations with regard to all natural resources in the forest areas.
- The PESA Act will give more constitutional rights to the tribal people to reap the benefits of natural resources from the forest areas where they live.
- PESA is an Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
- To bring the people residing in Fifth Schedule Areas in the mainstream, the Parliament, in terms of Article 243M(4)(b) of the Constitution, has enacted “the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996” (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution, relating to Panchayats, to the Fifth Schedule areas, with certain modifications and exceptions. States, having Fifth Schedule Areas, have been empowered to make Panchayat Laws for these areas.
- In terms of section 2 of this Act, “Scheduled Areas” means the Scheduled Areas as referred to in clause (1) of article 244 of the Constitution.
- Presently, 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, have Fifth Schedule Areas in their respective States.
- Out of the ten PESA States, eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have framed and notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- Based on continuous advocacy and persuasion by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- Recently, State of Chhattisgarh has notified their PESA Rules on 8th August, 2022.
- In the States of Jharkhand and Odisha the process of inter-Departmental consultation is still in progress.
- Nine PESA States, except Rajasthan, have incorporated the provisions of PESA 1996 in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- The tenth State, Rajasthan, has notified “The Rajasthan Panchayat Raj (Modification of Provisions in their Application to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1999”.
