(a) whether the implementation of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act,1996 has been satisfactory in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI NIHAL CHAND)
(a) to (c) The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends Part IX of the Constitution with certain modifications and exceptions, to the Fifth Schedule areas of ten States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Telangana. Under the scheme of things in the Constitution, Panchayats being the State subject, the powers regulating the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions, including framing of laws thereof, rests with the respective State Governments. Ministry of Panchayati Raj is the nodal Ministry for implementation of PESA and strives to reach its goals primarily through advocacy. All the Fifth Schedule States have taken steps to implement PESA by amending their State Panchayati Raj laws as well as some of the subject laws by bringing them in consonance with the provisions of PESA.
The Ministry has taken various initiatives to speed up the implementation of the PESA including issuing of guidelines on implementation of PESA, sharing of Draft Model Rules for PESA with the Fifth Schedule States, supporting States in activating Gram Sabhas under the erstwhile flagship programme of the Govern- ment- Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan, building capacities of elected representatives and functionaries by strengthening training infrastructure in States, organizing workshops in these States and printing Handbooks for village level governance.