Answer

♤ PESA has been very poorly implemented across the nine States. One major impediment in operationalisation of PESA is the absence of a proper administrative definition of the village that is in consonance with the Act. All States, without exception, have continued with their earlier revenue definitions of the village. Thereby, not only does a village at times consist of 10–12 scattered hamlets, but several revenue villages are clubbed together to form a Gram Panchayat. This effectively precludes the functioning of a ‘face to face’ community as envisaged in PESA and eliminates the likelihood of a functioning Gram Sabha, which could shoulder the responsibilities of a unit of self governance.

♤ The success of PESA hinges crucially on the effective functioning of the Gram Sabha. Today, even in tribal areas, there is no automaticity to the functioning of the Gram Sabha and there is a large measure of exclusion of women. With growing socio-economic differentiation within and across Adivasi communities, there is also exclusion of those who are poorer or whose voice is weaker.

♤ To ensure that Gram Sabhas actually meet and become vibrant fora of participatory democracy, as visualised under PESA, there is a need to facilitate this process by giving energy to it. This requires a dedicated cadre of social mobilisers at each GP level, specifically assigned with the task of mobilising the Gram Sabha and ensuring the effective participation of the marginalised, as also spreading greater awareness of laws such as PESA and Forest Rights Act (FRA) and key flagship programmes of the government.

♤ Land Alienation and Land Acquisition: A clear and categorical provision should be made in the Panchayati Raj Act or the Revenue Law to empower the Gram Sabha to restore the unlawfully alienated land to its lawful owner.

♤ Community Resources: The term ‘community resources’ which is used in PESA has not generally been defined. There is a need to define it as ‘natural resources including land, water and forest within the area of the village’.

♤ Mines and Minerals: The mineral rules should be amended transferring all quarries with annual lease value up to `10 lakhs to the Gram Sabha and panchayats at

different levels. This dispensation should cover all minor minerals. The consent of concerned Gram Sabha before awarding a lease should be made mandatory.

♤ Intoxicants: A clear and categorical provision should be made in the Panchayati Raj Act or the excise law to empower the Gram Sabha, in all matters concerning intoxicants such as establishment of liquor shops, manufacturing units and so on, the views of women members in the Gram Sabha should be decisive, irrespective of the strength of their presence in the relevant meeting.

♤ Effective Administrative Mechanism: It is abundantly clear that the existing administrative structures have been found inadequate in the process of implementation of PESA. It may be time now to consider the setting up of a permanent empowered body in each Fifth Schedule Area to oversee and monitor compliance with PESA and FRA. The details of such a body, including its powers, its constituents and its precise relationship with and accountability towards existing constitutional bodies, would each need to be carefully worked out.

♤ Institutionalised Mechanism of Conflict Resolution: There is also need to facilitate creation of institutional mechanisms of conflict resolution in India of the kind that exist across the world in countries which have faced conflicts over use of natural resources, especially in the context of indigenous people. A conflict resolution framework designed to suit our specific circumstances, would help mitigate conflicts before they reach a point of no return.