Censored chapter from the IRMA Panchayati Raj report
July 9, 2010
July 09, 2010
A few years ago Prime Minister Manmohan Singh commissioned a report from the autonomous body IRMA on the progress of Panchayati Raj in India. Two months ago, when he released this report at a public function to mark Panchayati Raj Day (the anniversary of the passing of the 93rd amendment to the Constitution), the crucial chapter on the implementation of PESA (Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996) had been quietly removed. The chapter is titled PESA, Left-Wing Extremism and Governance: Concerns and Challenges in India’s Tribal Districts. Tehelka has reported on this story.
PESA is supposed to apply to areas in nine states of India which contain a significant adivasi population. These states are AP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, MP, Orissa and Rajasthan. PESA, an extension of the original legislation on Panchayati Raj, is a supposedly progressive piece of legislation that attempts to recognise the automony of adivasis in governing their own communities. As the authors of the censored chapter say “by recognizing that tribal communities are ‘competent’ to self-govern, we were, in effect, recognizing the validity of their way of life, value systems and worldview.” PESA grants substantial powers to the Gram Sabha, which consists of all the adults in an organic self-governing community, rather than an administrative unit like a village (which has a Gram Panchayat).
The IRMA report, via fieldwork in the relevant areas, delves into the reality of PESA’s implementation and finds all the states lacking to a greater or lesser degree. Clearly, in the face of the present Maoist challenge in these same areas, the Government is uncomfortable with a report that just might explain to us what the Maoists are fighting for and how adivasi rights to their land and resources remain firmly paper-bound 60 years after Independence - Ed.
Click here for the pdf file of the censored chapter of the IRMA report
