PESA Act 1996

Also called: Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 · Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"

Meaning

The PESA Act 1996 (Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act) is an ordinary law of Parliament, made under Article 243M(4)(b). It extends Part IX of the Constitution (panchayats) to Fifth Schedule areas, with changes. Under it, every village's gram sabha (the meeting of all adult voters of a village) can run local affairs by its own customs, and it gets set powers over land, forests, minerals, markets and plans [3][4].

It matters because it puts the gram sabha above the elected panchayat. It gives tribal communities a legal say over their land and resources. The government calls it a "Constitution within the Constitution" [4].

Explanation

Why a separate Act was needed

• Scheduled Areas are tribal areas that the President declares under Article 244 and the Fifth Schedule. They get special protection for land, resources and culture [2].
• The 73rd Amendment (1992, in force 1993) added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule, which lists 29 subjects for panchayats [2].
• The gap:
• Art. 243M(1) kept Part IX out of Scheduled Areas [2].

• Art. 243M(4)(b) let Parliament extend Part IX there by an ordinary law, "with exceptions and modifications". Such a law is not a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

• The Bhuria Committee (1994-95), chaired by MP Dilip Singh Bhuria, proposed a model built around the gram sabha. This led to PESA.

• PESA is Act No. 40 of 1996 [3]. It got assent and came into force on 24 December 1996 [4].

Core idea: the gram sabha comes first

• Village (s. 4(b)): a habitation, a group of habitations or a hamlet whose community runs its affairs by tradition and custom. Every village has its own gram sabha [3][4].

• In ordinary Part IX, one gram sabha covers the voters of the whole gram panchayat area. Under PESA, each village gets its own gram sabha [4].

• Who sets the powers:

• Under ordinary Part IX, the state legislature decides what the gram sabha can do [2].

• Under PESA, the Act itself fixes these powers, and state law cannot reduce them.

• Devolution, not delegation: PESA hands power directly to gram sabhas and panchayats [4].

• Delegation would mean the state only lends the power and can take it back.

• Overriding clause (s. 4, opening words): whatever Part IX says, a state legislature cannot make a panchayat law that goes against PESA's features [3].

• s. 4(a): state panchayat laws must follow customary law (unwritten rules a community has followed for generations), social and religious practices and the traditional management of community resources [3].

Powers under Section 4

Protective powers of the gram sabha

• s. 4(d): it can protect traditions, customs, cultural identity, community resources and the customary way of settling disputes [4].

Development duties of the gram sabha

• s. 4(e)(i): it approves plans, programmes and projects before the panchayat carries them out [4].
• s. 4(e)(ii): it selects beneficiaries of poverty-alleviation schemes [4].
• s. 4(f): the panchayat needs a utilisation certificate from the gram sabha. This confirms the money was spent on the approved work [4].

Land and resources (gram sabha or panchayat "at the appropriate level")

Clause	Power	Strength
s. 4(i)	Land acquisition and resettlement of displaced people	Consultation only [4]
s. 4(j)	Planning and management of minor water bodies	Management [4]
s. 4(k)	Prospecting licence or mining lease for minor minerals	Prior recommendation [4]
s. 4(l)	Auctions of minor minerals	Prior recommendation [4]

Powers the state must give (s. 4(m)) [4]

• (i) enforce prohibition, or control the sale and use of intoxicants;
• (ii) ownership of minor forest produce (non-timber forest products such as tendu leaves, honey and lac);
• (iii) stop land alienation (tribal land passing to non-tribals) and restore land taken unlawfully;
• (iv) manage village markets;
• (v) control money-lending to STs;
• (vi) control institutions and staff in social sectors;
• (vii) control local plans and resources, including tribal sub-plans (the part of a budget set aside for tribal areas).

Seats, structure and limits

• s. 4(g): seats are reserved in proportion to each community's population, but STs get at least half the seats at every level. All chairperson posts at every level go to STs [3].
• s. 4(h): the state may nominate members of STs that have no seat at the intermediate or district level. Nominees can be no more than one-tenth of the elected members [4].
• s. 4(n): higher-tier panchayats must not take over the powers of lower tiers or of the gram sabha [3].
• s. 4(o): district-level administration should follow the Sixth Schedule pattern of autonomous councils [3].
• s. 5 (transition): a state law that goes against PESA lapses one year after 24 December 1996, unless it is amended or repealed earlier [3].
• Limits:
• On land, the Act only requires "consultation", so the state hears the gram sabha but does not have to follow it.
• The veto-like "prior recommendation" covers only minor minerals.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional base: Article 244 and the Fifth Schedule (Scheduled Areas), plus Article 243M(1) and 243M(4)(b) of Part IX (73rd Amendment, 1992).
• Coverage: the ten Fifth Schedule states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana [4].
• It does not cover Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. These come under the Sixth Schedule and its autonomous district councils [2].
• 2025 data: 77,564 villages, 22,040 panchayats, 664 blocks, 45 districts fully covered and 63 partly covered [2].

• Odisha has the most villages (19,311), followed by Jharkhand (16,022) [2].

• Slow alignment of state laws:

• States had to change their Panchayati Raj Acts and subject laws on land, excise, forest, mining, markets and money-lending.
• 2021 status (as states reported it): Gujarat had aligned all six subject laws. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had aligned none [4].

• Jharkhand gave ownership of minor forest produce to gram panchayats by a resolution of 8 February 2007 [4].

• PESA rules:

• 8 of 10 states have notified rules: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana [2].
• Madhya Pradesh notified its rules on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (15 November) 2022 [6].

• Odisha and Jharkhand had only draft rules as of December 2025 [2].

• Central government push (Ministry of Panchayati Raj, MoPR):

• November 2021: national conference marking 25 years of PESA [4].
• 2024-25: master-trainer programmes with seven anchor states trained over 1 lakh people [2].
• September 2024: PESA-GPDP Portal, which lets gram panchayats plan funds hamlet by hamlet and village by village [2].
• 24 December 2024: PESA Day, with the national event in Ranchi [2].
• A dedicated PESA Cell in MoPR [2].
• Manuals in Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati and Odia, and in Santhali, Gondi, Bhili and Mundari [2].
• 24 July 2025: MoU with Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, for a Centre of Excellence [2].

• 23-24 December 2025: PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, to be held every year on these dates [2].

• Related laws and reports:

• RFCTLARR Act 2013, s. 41: in Scheduled Areas, land should be acquired only as a "demonstrable last resort". It needs the gram sabha's prior consent, even in urgent cases, and a Development Plan for displaced ST families [5].
• Planning Commission Expert Group (2008): it linked the Left-Wing Extremism (Maoist) problem partly to PESA not being implemented [7].

Don't confuse with

• 73rd Amendment / Part IX: this is a constitutional amendment, and in ordinary Part IX the state legislature sets the gram sabha's powers. PESA is an ordinary Act, and it fixes the gram sabha's powers itself.
• Sixth Schedule: this runs through autonomous district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. PESA covers only the Fifth Schedule states. It only borrows the Sixth Schedule pattern for district administration (s. 4(o)).
• Bhuria Committee (1994-95) vs Bhuria Commission (2002-04): the Committee led to PESA. The Commission was set up under Art. 339 to report on the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of STs.
• Consultation (PESA s. 4(i)) vs consent (RFCTLARR Act 2013 s. 41): under PESA, the gram sabha must only be heard before land acquisition. Under the 2013 Act, its prior consent is needed [5].

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 243M(1) keeps Part IX out of Scheduled Areas. Art. 243M(4)(b) lets Parliament extend it by ordinary law. PESA is not a constitutional amendment.
• PESA is Act No. 40 of 1996 [3]. It came into force on 24 December 1996 in 10 Fifth Schedule states [4], and does not apply in Sixth Schedule states.
• Reservation: STs get at least 50% of seats and 100% of chairperson posts at every level [3]. State nominees can be no more than one-tenth of elected members [4].
• Prior recommendation of the gram sabha is needed for minor mineral leases and auctions (s. 4(k), 4(l)). For land acquisition, only consultation is needed (s. 4(i)) [4].
• Ownership of minor forest produce goes to gram sabhas and panchayats under s. 4(m)(ii) [4].
• Trap: Odisha and Jharkhand had only draft PESA rules as of December 2025 [2]. PESA Day 2024 was held in Ranchi, and PESA Mahotsav 2025 in Visakhapatnam [2].

Mains Points

• Deep democracy vs a state that holds back power:
• PESA makes the gram sabha the main decision-maker.
• But states were slow to change their forest, excise and mining laws and to frame rules. Odisha and Jharkhand still had only drafts in 2025 [2].

• This shows that states can hold on to power even after Parliament passes a law.

• Consultation vs consent:

• The weak word "consultation" in s. 4(i) lets officials treat the gram sabha as a box to tick.

• Reform: make consent the rule in PESA itself, as RFCTLARR Act 2013 s. 41 already does for land [5]. The gram sabha's say could also be extended to major-mineral projects.

• Security and custom:

• The 2008 Expert Group tied Left-Wing Extremism partly to PESA not being implemented [7]. Real control over land, forest produce and money-lending can reduce support for armed groups more lastingly than force alone.
• Putting customary law first (s. 4(a)) protects tribal identity [3]. But it can clash with gender equality, because few women hold traditional posts. Written rules that respect custom and also protect Fundamental Rights can balance the two.

Related concepts

• Bhuria Committee

Read more

• PESA 1996: gram sabha self-rule in Scheduled Areas