Indian Tribal News Service
New Delhi : As many as four States — all with a sizeable tribal population — namely Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha are yet to frame the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA) Rules. The Centre has now decided to take up the matter with the respective State Governments for its notification and subsequent implementation.
Addressing the National Conference on PESA here, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh said that six States namely Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana have notified PESA Rules.
And he, along with the Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, will discuss the matter of non-framing of PESA Rules with the Governors, Chief Ministers and Ministers of the four States. He requested the Governors of these States to take initiative in formulating PESA Rules by holding meetings with the Chief Ministers, Ministers and Departmental Secretaries.
He called for sharing the experiences of the 6 States which are implementing PESA Rules with other States.
Singh said that while preparing the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs should create a new model of development for the tribal community through convergence, keeping in mind the traditions of the tribal community adequate facilities should be provided to them.
Munda called upon the States to look at the tribal welfare from a national point of view while understanding the basic spirit of the Constitution along with local concerns and issues.
