Shashi SinghRanchi, Jan. 6 -- : The notification of rules under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 in Jharkhand, nearly three decades after the central law came into force, has triggered a sharp political and constitutional debate over tribal self-governance, administrative control and the real authority of Gram Sabhas in Fifth Schedule areas.
The state government has projected the move as a long-pending corrective step to empower tribal communities through legally recognised Gram Sabhas. Opposition parties and sections of tribal leadership, however, argue that while the rules have finally been notified, their content raises serious questions about whether the spirit of PESA has been preserved or diluted.
PESA was ena...