Implementation of Panchayats extension to scheduled areas
Jul 27, 2022
New Delhi [India], July 27 : Parliament has enacted 'The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996' (PESA) to extend Part IX of the Constitution, with certain modifications and exceptions, to the Fifth Schedule areas of 10 states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj informed on Wednesday.
Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Kapil Moreshwar Patil in a written reply in Rajya Sabha said that 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". With the objective of effective implementation of PESA, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj circulated Draft Model PESA Rules in 2009.
Based on constant persuasion by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj six states namely; Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana have notified their state PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has requested the states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to notify their State PESA Rules through advisories, conferences, meetings, workshops. The recent advisory sent in this regard was in February, 2022.
