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Tribal body writes to Jharkhand Guv over urban body polls in scheduled areas
The municipal elections are scheduled to be held for 48 ULBs in Jharkhand on February 23, and the results are scheduled to be declared on February 27.
Tribal organisation Kolhan Adivasi Samanway Manch (KASM) has sought Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar’s intervention to stop the upcoming municipal elections of urban local bodies (ULBs) in areas under the Fifth Schedule, alleging violation of the Constitution, people aware of the matter said on Saturday.
The municipal elections are scheduled to be held for 48 ULBs in Jharkhand on February 23, and the results are scheduled to be declared on February 27.
“We have written a letter along with a charter of demands to the Governor because he is the custodian of the Constitution and tribal rights in the state. Though Part IX-A, which is linked to the municipal bodies, has been added to the Constitution through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, Article 243ZC has clarified categorically that this provision will not be applicable automatically in scheduled areas under the Fifth Schedule unless and until Parliament enacts a special law like the Municipal Extension in Scheduled Areas (MESA),” KASM chief convenor Arjun Munduiya told the media on Saturday.
In his letter to the Governor, Munduiya stated, “The Panchayat Extension in Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act is applicable and available in the panchayats in scheduled areas, but no such law is in existence for the municipal areas as of now. Moreover, no legal notification has been issued by the Governor for the implementation of the Jharkhand Municipal Act, 2011, in the scheduled areas of the state.”
Munduiya further said in his letter that the KASM thinks that implementing the municipal body system in the scheduled areas is a violation of Articles 243ZC, 243ZF and 244(1) of the Constitution.
“Forcible extension of the municipal system in the scheduled areas will adversely affect tribal self-rule, the role of the Gram Sabhas, and is against the letter and spirit of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT), meant to protect tribal rights, traditions and lands. The constitutional provisions that the press note issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) on January 27 for holding the municipal elections have referred to are also applicable in general areas and not in the scheduled areas,” the letter read.
Earlier on Wednesday, the tribal rights group, Adivasi Buddhijivi Manch (ABM), had formally petitioned the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government at Lok Bhawan to halt the upcoming elections for 22 civic bodies located within scheduled areas, citing an ongoing case in the Jharkhand high court regarding the legal basis for conducting elections in the said areas.
ABM national convener Victor Kumar Malto had stated, “The Parliament has not yet officially extended these municipal laws to these specific regions to ensure the protection of tribal communities as guaranteed by the Fifth Schedule. Holding these elections without proper constitutional modifications undermines the traditional governance and rights of the Scheduled Tribes in Jharkhand.”
