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Gram Sabhas get powers as govt notifies PESA Rule, BJP cries foul
The Hemant Soren government had cleared the Rule on December 23 and it was notified by the Panchayati Raj department on Friday.
In a step towards strengthening self-governance in the scheduled areas of the state, the Jharkhand government has notified the ‘Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Jharkhand Rule -2025’, giving powers to the traditional Gram Sabhas, officials said on Saturday.
With implementation of the much-awaited PESA Rule, the Gram Sabhas would be empowered to take decision through common participation of people in sectors including sale/purchase of land, management of resources like forest produce, water bodies and minor minerals, opening of liquor shops, besides conducting open hearing and deciding on persons accused of petty crimes in their jurisdiction, with powers to grant monetary punishment.
The Hemant Soren government had cleared the Rule on December 23 and it was notified by the Panchayati Raj department on Friday. The rules determine the process for institution of Gram Sabhas, selection of their heads and members, their powers, functioning as well the exceptions under which they would have to function.
The notification mentions that the responsibility for the recognition and publication of traditional villages, Gram Sabhas, and their boundaries lies with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the respective districts. The DCs will constitute a team at the block level for the purpose.
“Generally, each traditional gram sabha shall be equivalent to a revenue village. However, the villages, Gram Sabhas, and village boundaries falling under a traditional village may differ. Therefore, the team constituted by the Deputy Commissioner shall, in consultation with the head and members of the traditional gram sabha, identify the boundaries of the traditional gram sabha and document them,” the notification said.
In Jharkhand, the rules will be implemented fully in 13 scheduled districts including Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Latehar, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharswan, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur, and partially in three districts---Palamu, Godda and Garhwa. The scheduled areas cover 16,022 villages and 2,074 panchayats, officials said.
The PESA Act, recognising the rights of tribal communities in Scheduled Areas, was enacted in 1996 by the central government, but despite the creation of a separate state in 2000, it could not be implemented in Jharkhand in the absence of its rules.
In July 2023, the Panchayat Raj Department released draft rules for PESA and invited responses from the public. The department also conducted workshops and discussions to get feedback on the draft rules in 2024.
The notification however received sharp reaction from the opposition, with the BJP describing the Rule as dilution of the spirit of PESA Act. Leader of opposition Babulal Marandi alleged the rules have been framed in a way that it gets stuck in legal hurdles.
“We believe the Hemant government doesn’t want to implement the policy at all, due to pressure from “external forces.” That’s why they’ve deliberately created this mess so that people will go to court again, preventing its implementation. Then Hemant can conveniently claim that he did his part, but some people went to court and are now preventing its implementation,” Marandi said.
Former minister and senior BJP leader Amar Bauri said the government has not clearly defined conservative tribal traditions, which could allow individuals who do not belong to this group to benefit from the provisions.
“This is an injustice to the rights of the tribal community. Instead of granting control over forest produce, mineral resources, and water sources to the Gram Sabha (village council), the government and district authorities have retained several important powers for themselves. This is a direct attempt to undermine the constitutional powers of the Gram Sabha. It is abundantly clear that the Jharkhand government has attempted to keep the PESA under its control, while its original purpose was to empower the Gram Sabha, he added.
Reacting to the charges Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Manoj Pandey rubbished the allegations saying the notification is a milestone that has been created by their government.
“This historic decision has frustrated the BJP. They were in power in the state for the maximum amount of time since the state was created 25 years back. They never did this because they have been anti-tribal. Now that they know what impact this would have on the ground, they are speaking out of frustration. Earlier, they were alleging that the Hemant government was not passing the Rules. Now that it has been done, they want to confuse people with baseless allegations. But people can clearly see through their design,” said Pandey.
