UPSC Prelims 2023 Q39: Scheduled Areas & Fifth Schedule — Explained
With reference to 'Scheduled Areas' in India, consider the following statements:
1. Within a State, the notification of an area as Scheduled Area takes place through an Order of the President.
2. The largest administrative unit forming the Scheduled Area is the District and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the Block.
3. The Chief Ministers of the concerned States are required to submit annual reports to the Union Home Ministry on the administration of Scheduled Areas in the States.
How many of the above statements are correct?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Answer: (b) Only two
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Paragraph 6(1) of the Fifth Schedule defines Scheduled Areas as the areas the President declares by order to be Scheduled Areas. Under Paragraph 6(2), the President can also increase, alter or rescind these areas by order, after consulting the Governor of the State concerned. The State does not notify them itself. Examples are the Scheduled Areas (Part A States) Order, 1950 and the 2018 order that extended Scheduled Areas in Rajasthan.
- 2: correct — The Ministry of Tribal Affairs says the largest administrative unit forming a Scheduled Area has been the District and the lowest has been a cluster of villages in a Block. One of the declaration criteria is that the area must be a viable administrative unit, such as a district, block or taluk. That is why a whole district can be scheduled in one State while only some villages of a block are scheduled in another.
- 3: incorrect — Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule requires the Governor, not the Chief Minister, to report to the President, not to the Union Home Ministry. The report is made annually, or whenever the President asks for it. The same paragraph says the Union's executive power extends to giving the State directions on how to administer these areas. The nodal ministry for Scheduled Areas today is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not the Home Ministry.
How to eliminate
Statement 3 can be eliminated from basic polity. The Fifth Schedule is built around the Governor and the President, because these are areas where the Union keeps a supervisory role over the State. A report from the Chief Minister to a Union ministry does not fit that design. Two errors should stand out: the wrong person (Chief Minister instead of Governor) and the wrong recipient (Home Ministry instead of President). Statement 1 follows from the core definition every aspirant should know: Scheduled Areas are 'declared by the President by order', the same way the President notifies Scheduled Tribes under Article 342. That leaves Statement 2. It is a detail from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and you can only be sure of it if you know the fact. Still, it is not extreme. Scheduled Areas range from whole districts to single villages, so a range of 'district down to a cluster of villages in a block' is plausible. Once you have accepted Statement 1 and rejected Statement 3, the count is 'one' or 'two', and it depends on Statement 2. Fact to remember: largest unit = District; lowest unit = cluster of villages in a Block.
Know more
Scheduled Areas: Article 244(1) and the Fifth Schedule
Article 244(1) applies the Fifth Schedule to Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in every State except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Tribal areas in those four States fall under the Sixth Schedule (Article 244(2)).
Who does what under the Fifth Schedule
| Paragraph | Provision |
|---|---|
| Para 2 | The State's executive power extends to Scheduled Areas, subject to the Schedule |
| Para 3 | The Governor reports to the President annually or when the President asks; the Union can give the State directions |
| Para 4 | Tribes Advisory Council (TAC): up to 20 members, about three-fourths of them ST members of the State Legislative Assembly |
| Para 5 | The Governor can direct that an Act of Parliament or of the State does not apply, or applies with changes; the Governor can make regulations on land transfer, land allotment and money-lending, after consulting the TAC and with the President's assent |
| Para 6 | The President declares, increases, alters or rescinds Scheduled Areas by order |
Criteria for declaration (followed since the Dhebar Commission, 1961):
- a large share of the population is tribal
- the area is compact and of reasonable size
- the area is a viable administrative unit, such as a district, block or taluk
- the area is economically backward compared with neighbouring areas
Where they exist: Fifth Schedule areas are in 10 States: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. Each of these States has a TAC.
Fifth vs Sixth Schedule
| Fifth Schedule | Sixth Schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | Scheduled Area | Autonomous District or Regional Council |
| Self-government | No elected council of its own; TAC is advisory | Elected councils with legislative, judicial and financial powers |
| Key office | Governor, reporting to the President | Governor, plus the District Councils |
The PESA Act, 1996 extends Panchayati Raj to Fifth Schedule areas and gives the Gram Sabha a central role.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Scheduled Areas: Statements 1 and 2 test how a Scheduled Area is declared and which administrative units can form one.
- Fifth Schedule: Statement 3 depends on the Fifth Schedule's paragraph on who reports on Scheduled Areas, and to whom.
- Tribes Advisory Council: The Tribes Advisory Council is the other Fifth Schedule body, which helps you place the Governor's role in context.
- Dhebar Commission: The Dhebar Commission (1961) set the criteria still used to declare an area as a Scheduled Area.
- Scheduled Tribes: Scheduled Tribes are also notified by Presidential order, a parallel that helps you judge Statement 1.