Surprised that PESA implementation not completed yet: Parliamentary panel

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj on Monday said it is surprised to note that even after almost 30 years of passing the PESA Act, its implementation has not been completed yet.

In an action taken report tabled in Parliament on Monday, the committee, which is headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, said that many states still lack the necessary rules and important laws related to land, forests and minerals, which are not fully aligned with PESA.

The committee in its report noted the steps taken by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for the effective implementation of the provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, commonly known as the PESA Act.

"The committee is surprised to note that even after almost 30 years of passing the PESA Act, its implementation has not been completed yet. Many states still lack the necessary rules and important laws related to land, forests, and minerals which are not fully aligned with PESA," the report said.

While the committee appreciated the steps taken by the ministry, such as holding conferences, trainings of state level master trainers, preparing manuals, and including PESA in village development plans, it observed that the ministry has not shared any data or results showing whether these activities have made any impact on the ground.

"...Like whether Gram Sabhas have become stronger and violations of land rights have been reduced," it said.

"Therefore, the committee reiterates its earlier recommendation that the MoPR should not only focus on action-oriented capacity building, organising conferences and workshops etc., but should also resort to active and practical approach with clear goals and measurable results to achieve and also gather regular feedback from tribal communities so as to assess that PESA is properly implemented in all Fifth Schedule areas," the panel said.

It also urged the ministry to conduct training at district and village level, organise awareness programmes for tribal communities and set up a system to monitor the progress.

The PESA Act was enacted to extend the provisions of the Panchayati Raj system to the Scheduled Areas in the country.

These areas are primarily inhabited by tribal communities and are governed by the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.