The Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand said Wednesday it would “soon” implement the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, in the state but declined to give a deadline.
Replying to a short notice question ruling JMM legislator Lobin Hembrom in the state assembly, parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said the government was awaiting reports from three departments over the issue.
“The process has already been started. Of the 15 departments concerned, the government has already received reports from 12. As soon as we get the report from the remaining three departments, we would make them public, and it would be implemented soon after,” said Alam.
The Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, is a central law that aims to devolve power and authority to Gram Sabha and Panchayats in the tribal areas falling under Schedule V of the Constitution.
The provisions under constitution and the composition under this act call for every legislation on the Panchayat in Schedule V area be in conformity with the customary law, social and religious practices, and traditional management practices of the community resources.
As per the Act, nine states, including Jharkhand, with scheduled areas within their geographical boundaries, were mandated to amend their existing Panchayati Raj acts and incorporate provisions of PESA. However, Jharkhand, where 13 of the 24 districts fall under Schedule V, is yet to frame regulations and implement PESA Act.
Implementation of the PESA Act has been a repeated demand of rights activists, besides it being an electoral promise of the ruling JMM and Congress.
Alleging that tribal rights were being comprised due to absence of PESA, the JMM legislator repeatedly demanded the government to announce a deadline for the same.
“Governments have failed to implement the Act for over two decades, even as the rights of tribals in the state were being compromised. The government itself is violating the Constitution by not implementing PESA and holding panchayat elections there. I want the government to give a deadline and not keep it open ended by saying it would do it soon,” said Hembrom.
The parliamentary affairs minister, however, refused to give a deadline. “He is a senior legislator and himself been a minister. One can’t give deadlines on such issues. I have said that the government is committed to implementing it soon. I assure him I will inform him about the status of the report from the three pending departments within this ongoing session,” said Alam.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP legislators continued to protest both within and outside the House, seeking a statement from the chief minister over the employment policy cleared by the government recently, forcing the Speaker to adjourn proceedings twice in the first half.
