DECENTRALIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF GRAM SABHA WITH REFERENCE TO PESA IN SCHEDULE AREAS: CHALLENGES AND ALTERNATIVE.

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1 ISSN No X An Indexed Refereed Journal of Higher Education Towards Excellence UGC-ACADEMIC STAFF COLLEGE, GUJARAT UNIVERSITY, AHMEDABAD, INDIA DECENTRALIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF GRAM SABHA WITH REFERENCE TO PESA IN SCHEDULE AREAS: CHALLENGES AND ALTERNATIVE Sunny Wadhwaniya Abstract: The most obstinate questions faced by the Schedule areas of the Country are, whether the policy shift towards the decentralization by Implementation of PESA is able to deliver the desired results? How far decentralization has contributed in smooth functioning of Gram Sabha at the grass root level in the Schedule areas of country? These questions have assumed some degree of importance after the enactment of Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, The present paper attempts to answer this question by exploring the challenges faced by the Gram Sabha by undertaking extensive qualitative research as PESA recognized Gram Sabha to be pre-eminent and is bestowed with crucial responsibilities and authority. Decentralization aims at strengthening Governance by engaging people in the decision making process. The 73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act devolved the power at the grass root level. The applicability of the act was further improved by introducing Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 to protect the traditional way of living of the Tribal communities. Further, the paper also reveals that there are two primary reasons responsible for the ambiguity in the functioning of Gram Sabha- (1).The absence of Women and Weaker sections of the village (2).Lack of awareness among the people about the importance of Gram Sabha. At the end, the paper lists some suggestions to institutionalize and actualize Gram Sabha in a more better way through decentralized participatory democracy in latter and spirit Key Words: Decentralization, Gram Sabha, Democracy, Governance March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 47

2 1. Introduction:- The Panchayat (Extension to schedule areas) Act, 1996 was enacted to protect the traditional way of living of the Tribal communities. (Ratnawali, 2006). The act is applicable to the tribal areas which were not included in the 73r Amendment or Panchayati Raj act of the Indian Constitution. The act also aims at protecting the tribal population from the exploitation through strengthening Gram Sabha by transferring powers to the local level (Gram Sabha) or the Village assembly. (Kannabiran, 2014). This transferring of powers to the local level is known as Decentralization. The concept of Decentralization has its roots in the Principle of Subsidiarity which was evolved in the social doctrine of catholic church by Pope Pius XI in The Principle is considered as an approach to the problems of modern society. (Woods, 2015). The inherent notion behind the principle as rightly stated by (Vischer, 2001) is that the health of a society is in great part a function of the vibrancy and empowerment of individuals acting together through social groupings and associations and it consequently promotes a tendency toward solving problems at the local level and on fostering the vitality of mediating structures in society. The principle of subsidiarity is regarded as a part of the original theory of American federalism which states that the State Governments will be more responsible than the National Government to the Public. (Woods, 2015). Therefore the synergy between the principle of subsidiarity and decentralization results into the advantage that the local Government have as far as allocative function is concerned i.e. the quest for allocative efficiency. Moreover the principle argues that taxing, spending and other regulatory functions should be devolved to the local level (Local Government). (Kim, 2013) This serves as a convenient departure point for classifying different types of decentralization. Depending on the different characteristics, policy, implications and condition for success, Neven (2011) classifies decentralization into four types- Political, Administrative, Fiscal and Economic/ Market Decentralization. March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 48

3 1. In Political Decentralization the citizens are given more power in decision making process. Political Decentralization is often related with the pluralistic politics and representative government. (Roberston, 2002) 2. In case of Administrative Decentralization the authority, responsibility and financial resources are redistributed among different level of government for providing public service. Administrative Decentralization is transfer of responsibility for planning, financing and management of public functions from central government to the subordinate levels of the government. The principal of Subsidiarity is followed in such decentralization. (Neven, 2011) 3. Fiscal Decentralization is one of the important form of Decentralization. In this type of Decentralization the local governments have the power to raise taxes and generate their own revenue. The authority to collect taxes is devolved from the center to the Local Government 4. Economic/ Market Decentralization: This is the most complete form of Decentralization as it involves Privatization and deregulation. In this type of Decentralization the responsibility for functions are shifted from public to private sector. (Malinvaud, 1998) Decentralization is thus a medium through which maximum participation of people can be achieved by associating them in the work of Government which is why Decentralization is strength of the democracy. (Narain, 1960).Decentralization has been widely discussed across the globe by many scholars in different ways but the common view about decentralization is, it is transfer of all forms of authority (legislative, judicial & administrative) from higher level of the Government to the Lower level so that maximum people can be involve in the decision making process. The Directive Principles of the State policy in the Indian Constitution does accommodate the concept of Decentralization but unfortunately this concept did not get headway due to lack of political will however the concept was again tried to revive through March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 49

4 the enactment of Panchayati Raj Act of 1992 in which there are provisions to devolve power to the local bodies in rural and urban areas. Gram Sabha has been given enormous importance in Panchayats (Extension to Schedule Areas) Act-1996 through the following Sections of the act: (Section 4d) of the act has entrusted Gram Sabha with the responsibility to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of the Tribal people along with their culture, community resources and also the mode of dispute resolution. (Section 4e) of the act makes Grams Sabha responsible for approval of all the development plans and to also identify the beneficiaries for each developmental schemes. (Section 4f) empowers Gram Sabha as a authority to issue utilization certificates for the money spent by the panchayat for the development of the village. (Section 4m) makes Gram Sabha a regulatory authority along with the Panchayat at some level to regulate intoxicants, ownership of land, management of village market, control over money etc. (Rath, 2012) 1.1. Design/methodology/approach: The Principal of Subsidiarity is used as a departure point to classify various types of Decentralization and relate it in context of Gram Sabha. The subsequent sections through extensive qualitative research deals with the challenges faced by the Gram Sabha in schedule areas of the country by reviewing the recent empirical studies which has focused particularly on the issues of Decentralization & Gram Sabha in schedule areas. The paper is organized into 6 sections. The second section undertakes critical analysis of Evolution of Panchayati Raj Act. It does this by looking at the factors which were responsible behind the curtain to stir the need for Panchayati Raj Act in the country. The Third section attempts to capture the motives for the need of The Panchayat (Extension to schedule areas) Act, The fourth section, explains the importance of Gram Sabha under PESA by taking into consideration March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 50

5 the powers and the authorities bestowed upon Gram Sabha under the act. The fifth section deals with the challenges involved in the functioning of Gram Sabha by reviewing available empirical studies and also offer an alternative to overcome the challenges. The final section offers some suggestions to institutionalize and actualize Gram Sabha in a better way through the approach of Decentralized Participatory Democracy. The method of the study does not involve an empirical inquiry into the research problem and is completely based on extensive qualitative research and hence the paper does not aim generalizing the entire scene. 2. Evolution of Panchayat Raj Act:- In light of the proposed study it is necessary to the factors which stirred the need for Panchayati Raj Act. The major development with regards to this act was during the British rule when Lord Rippon took an initiative in 1882 to pass the resolution on local self- Government and established local Self-Government institutions as municipal bodies and district boards but in the long run these institutions failed to get proper support and popularity as they lacked authority and resources. In 1907 again this issue was taken up by the Royal commission on Decentralization with the recommendation to revive the Village Panchayat (Samant, 1957). The demand to devolve the power to the local level through Panchayati Raj Institutions got a boost during the Non-Cooperation movement in with the boycott of the courts established by the British Government and at the same time there were lot of Non officials Panchayats established in the village. (Sitharamayya.P, 1946). Mahatma Gandhi was strong advocate the Panchayati Raj Institutions. He incepted the idea of Gram Swaraj. After the Independence, Indian Government practiced Centralized Governance with the democratically elected Government at the Center. At that point of time it was not considered appropriate to involve the people from the grass root level in the decision making. (Methew, 1994). March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 51

6 Although Mahatma Gandhi was the strong advocate of the Idea of Panchayat but he had to face opposition from the some well know people at the time of drafting of the constitution but finally on his instances to the constituent assembly the idea finally got the place in The directive principals of the State Policy under Article 40 which mandates every state to transfer powers and authority to local bodies which makes them independent and enables them to function as responsible units. (Malvya, 1956). In the wake of 1950 many state enthusiastically participated in the implementation of the act with Rajasthan being the first State to implement this act. The act could be sustained long with the passage of time as a result of which Government of India appointed Balwant Rai Mehta committee to recommend the measures through which the act can be implemented in the better and sustained way. The committee recommended measures and even by implementation of those measure operation of the act was not successful due to lack of political will and slowly the Panchayats began losing its relevance following which the Government appointed many other committees like Asoka Mehta Committee (1977), G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985) and L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986) to review the flaws and drawbacks and improve the status of Panchayats. The act however got real recognition after the enactment of 73 rd and 74 th amendments to the Constitution in which the Government endowed enormous powers with prominent features to the local bodies. It was for the first time a statutory status was accorded to Gram Sabha and the powers of the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat was defined specifically. The amendments to the constitutions are historic because for the first time because of these amendments women got the opportunity of political participation and have a voice in the decision making process. The enactment of the law was restricted to the Tribal areas of the country under Article 243 (M). 3. Evolution and Need of PESA:- March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 52

7 According to Census 2011, Tribal Population of India constitutes around 8.6 % of total population which means over 104 million people of the total population. Tribal are also known as autochthons which means that they are the original or indigenous inhabitant of the place. The reasons for them being schedule from the mainstream population are, their remote habitats and a culture which has a distinct cohesive social structure and own tradition of self-governance. They are having very simple ways of livings with little interaction with the other communities. With continuous growth and development of the country their land became accessible to the outside world and as a result the outside world took advantage of their unawareness of law and development and gradually deprived them from their own resources. The situation got worsened day by day and Tribal were forced to leave their habitat as a result helplessly they were subject to exploitative attitude of other communities. (Vidhyarthi, 1981). In response to this situation and realizing the need to protect the tribal population from such kind of exploitation, provisions to safeguard the interest were made in the act in the V th and VI th schedules under Article 244 of the Constitution of India. The V th schedule deals with the schedule areas specified in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharastra, Tamilnadu and Himachal Pradesh and VI th schedule deals with the schedule areas of north eastern state - Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Under the V th schedule Governors were given the responsibilities and sweeping powers to implement welfare policies for the Tribal population of the state by upholding their socio cultural interest but unfortunately the protections which are guaranteed in this schedule were not followed and the situations remained the same. Taking into consideration the above situation & ignorance of the Governors in matters of exercising their powers for the welfare of the Tribal communities under the Schedule V th, a committee under the chairmanship of Shri. Dileep Singh Bhuria was constituted for suggesting the suitable modifications to meet the aspirations of the Tribals and make the 73 rd amendment applicable even to the schedule areas of the country. The committee after the detail investigation came up certain modifications and submitted its March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 53

8 report to the Government in January Keeping in view the modifications and suggestions of the committee the Parliament extended the act to the Schedule areas in The Act cam to be known as The Provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to the Schedule Areas) Act, 1996, (PESA). It was made mandatory for all the state to comply with the provisions of the act in consonance with PESA within one year of its enactment. 4. Gram Sabha and PESA:- The Tribal society is basically homogeneous and monolithic hence, it is necessary that they should have a participatory democracy which is constitutionally provided to them by the Gram Sabha. Taking into consideration this need to provide them such kind of participatory democracy, the Bhuriya Committee recommended to make Gram Sabha the center of this entire scheme of decentralized governance, planning and development in Tribal areas (Pal, 2016). The Gram Sabha has been recognized as a component to the act on range of powers. The following powers have been entrusted to Gram Sabha. The power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled areas and to take appropriate action To restore any unlawfully alienated land of a Scheduled Tribe The ownership of minor forest produce The power to enforce prohibition, or to regulate or restrict the sale and consumption of any intoxicant The power to exercise control over money lending to the Scheduled Tribes The power to exercise control over institutions and functionaries in all social sectors The power to control local plans, and resources for such plans including tribal subplans The power of prior recommendation in granting prospecting license or mining leases for minor minerals as well as for grant of concessions for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction The right to be consulted on matters of land acquisition March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 54

9 The power to issue utilization certificates for government works undertaken in their village (Dandekar, 2010) 5. The challenges & Alternatives:- The enactment of the PESA was the step by the Government to safeguard the interest of the Tribal community but from the earlier studies and extensive review of the literature it seems that the law has not benefitted as it was supposed to mainly due to reasons like : unawareness, ignorance for their rights, lack of interest in the day to day business of Gram Sabha. The actual purpose of Decentralization is not achieved as a result the objectives of participatory democracy is not achieved. This section will deliberately discusses some of the challenges and will also offer alternatives. Challenge No: 1: Transparency & Accountability: To ensure the bottom up approach it is necessary that all the activities of the Gram Sabha should transparent and accountable. It is a platform where the decision making powers are entrusted upon the community. There are lots of provisions to ensure the transparency and accountability even at the grass root level but what is missing is citizen initiative to demand for accountability. While reviewing the empirical studies which are conducted on Gram Sabha with reference to PESA it has been observe that somewhere the accountability and transparency is missing which leads to gradual dysfunction of the Gram Sabha. In order to make Gram Sabha accountable it is necessary to initiate a meaningful participation by the local leaders who have their influence over the people. (Nambiar, 2001) (Ratnavali, 2006) has undertaken an empirical study in the Schedule areas of Gujarat. The study categorically mentions that the accountability in the delay in completion of development work is not clearly defined. Even the people of the village are in dilemma that who should be held responsible for such delays. The officers who are to attend the Gram Sabha are themselves unaware of the earlier resolutions and status of the work. The grievance of the people are sometimes hardly conveyed to the Government and no follow up is done. The concerned officials pass on their responsibility to the department who are March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 55

10 responsible for the work but the departments are not at all in obligation to answer the Gram Sabha. The same is the case with the Gram Panchayat members in such situations even they are not able to help because the government officials responsible for such work are not under their control. The resolutions are passed but after that there is no implementation of those resolutions. Such unaccountability in completion of the developmental work has put the credibility of the Gram Sabha at stack. (Priya, 2001) in her empirical study on State of Panchayat : A Participatory perspective conducted in Gujarat has described the case study of Nani charoli Gram Panchayat in Fatehpura Taluka of Dahod District. Here the people are demanding the complete accountability from the Gram Sabha members by asking them to show the accounts of development works. Even the Sarpanch is force to call the Gram Sabha meeting and present the details of the activities undertaken by the Panchayat. In the case where the villagers are having doubts in the list of expenditures they demanded clarifications. Every household in the village are also demanding the receipts of the contribution collected from the side of the Panchayat. Alternative: On comparing the above two studies it is observed that the situation is very ironical as in case of the study conducted by (Ratnavali, 2006) there is sheer ignorance of Transparency and accountability while the study conducted by (Priya, 2001) shows that Transparency and Accountability were of the prime importance for the people of the village. The above situation can be made better and the traditional outlook of living with the problem rather then solving it can be overcome if we have a good leadership pattern. In order to have a good leadership pattern the local leaders should initiate meaningful participation in the Sabha and they should be able to persuade people to support local initiatives. Secondly, to avoid the confusion on account of overlapping of responsibilities there should be autonomy in management of social sectors. Challenge No: 2: Low Participation of People: March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 56

11 Maximum Participation of people in the decision making process is the key to successful Governance. The main purpose of the Gram Sabha is to ensure greater participation of people in the matters which are directly concerned to them. This will not only help them to raise their voice but will also empower them to take decisions on their own for the development. By giving people the chance to be a part of the decision making process the urge for the development would come from the community by which the process of development will sustain and also get accelerated. (Singh, 2013) in his empirical study on Participation of People in Gram Sabha has observed the pattern of participation of Women and Men in the Gram Sabha in tribal areas of Patna and Rohtas districts of Bihar. He has observed that out of 800 households only 23 % of the household are regularly participating in the Gram Sabha meeting while 33 % of the household seldom attain the meetings rest 43 % are not all interested in participating the Gram Sabha meeting. It is easy to draw the pattern of participation in the meeting as the findings of the study suggest that in most of the cases only men attain the meetings and hardly the presence of women is found in the meetings. It is quite surprising to note that although there is a statutory provision of one-third representation of women mandatory for the quorum of Gram Sabha but still that is being ignored. Looking at such situation it is obvious to raise this question: What can be the possible reasons for low participation in Gram Sabha? The answer to this question is found in the study, the author points out several reasons for such low participation: (1). Strongly Entrenched Caste System, (2). Class differentiation, (3). Gender divide, (4). Domination of Influential people in the decision making process. (5). Lack of Interest in the community regarding Gram Sabha meetings. Alternative: Since Gram Sabha is the cornerstone of the entire scheme of PESA it is necessary that the Gram Sabha should have complete representation from all the sections of the village community. It is a need of an hour that Gram Sabha should be made more effective, active and creative so that the goal of inclusive participation can be achieved. The Elected March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 57

12 representatives of the Panchayat and the panchayat members should motivate people to participate as well as make them aware about the importance of participation in Gram Sabha. To discuss day to day problems the platform of Gram Sabha could be the best option. The marginalized sections of the society who do not play any role in decision making process should be brought into main stream through sensitization and capacity building through training camps, awareness campaigns and audio-visual mediums Challenge: 3: Devolution/Transfer of Power: The process of devolution leads to Decentralization and therefore, the devolution of power & resources to Gram Sabha is essential to promote sustainable Decentralization. The Devolution is the process in which the responsibility and the power is moved closer to the people. (Alok, 2013). The PESA act has given the flexibility in a certain sense to the States to assign or transfer the powers to Gram Sabha and Panchayats depending on the situation of the state but the transfer of power should be within the framework devised in the act. This is true that some states have indeed transferred the power in true manner as per envisaged in the act, but at the same time there are some States which has not satisfactorily devolved powers to the Gram Sabha and Gram panchayat as result they are not able to function in an independent manner. (Ray, 2009) in a survey based work conducted in the Schedule blocks of Gajpapati District in Southern Orissa namely, R. Udayagiri and Mohana from October 2007 to March 2008 has critically analyzed the overall performance in the implementation of PESA with focus on the devolution of power and authorities to Gram Sabha. The study has analyzed the overall performance of the Gram Panchayat in terms of implementation of PESA. The author is of the view that number of combination factors have reduced Gram Sabha to a rubber stamp body approving the Panchayat activities and Budget which are often influence by the State Government sometimes even without necessary quorum. The study has also pointed out several factors responsible for the low attendance in the Gram Sabha March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 58

13 like : (1). Inability of Panchayat members to live up to the expectations, (2). Politics in the implementation of Programme, (3). Social divisions etc. The study has analyzed the level of devolution of power or authorities in line with specifically designed PESA field assessment guideline which focuses on issues like Control over Minor Forest Produce, Control over Money Lending, land Acquisition for Developmental projects resettlement of displaced persons, Management of Village Market, Control over Social Sector Programmes, Awareness and Trainings. It is observed that the democratic devolution of power and authority to the Gram Sabha has achieved very little progress.the Village Panchayat claimed having granted the right to make and implement decisions but in reality it is big question mark on the ability of the Gram Sabha to do so. Secondly, limited financial resources to the Gram Sabha has further spoiled the situation. The Panchayats (Extension to Schedule Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) seeks to institutionalize democratic decentralization process in the Tribal areas by making Gram Sabha what (Sharma,2013) calls Fulcrum of the entire act as it gives the chance to each and every voter to participate in the decision making process. In order for proper functioning of Gram Sabha it needs a space in which autonomy can flourish and shape public choices. The PESA act thus provides such space in which the village community in the Schedule area can meaningfully participate in decision making process and make grass root democracy more sustainable but the as per the findings of the above study it seems that divisive politics, unawareness among the community and administrative failure is responsible for the incomplete devolution of powers to the Gram Sabha. Alternative: Devolution of power to the Gram Sabha is a underlying spirit of the Act which helps in promotion of participatory democracy rather then representative decentralized democracy in the form of Gram Panchayat. The above study clearly points out interference of the State and the village Panchayat in matters of exercising the powers and and therefore the Gram Sabha has lost its importance. The alternatives to such issue may have multiple March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 59

14 dimensions. State legislature has most important role to play in the devolution of the power, it is the state legislature who has ensure that Panchayat at the higher level for ex (Taluka/block Panchayat, Village Panchayat) do not assume the devolved powers and authority of any Panchayat or Gram Sabha at the lower level. In a nutshell it can be said that the Principal of subsidiary should be followed which means that larger and greater body should not exercise functions which can be carried out efficiently by local level (De, 2013). Secondly, to make the community understand the importance of Gram Sabha, the powers and functions of Gram Sabha, the rights of the Gram Sabha there is an urgent need to educate and motivate the tribal community by capacity building programmes, regular meetings of the Gram Sabha, Training of Panchayat members, Women Empowerment etc. Thirdly, the state should not intervene unnecessarily in planning and execution of the work this makes Gram Sabha an organization with no real autonomy. Challenge: 4: Women Participation in Gram Sabha: To make women leadership effective it is necessary that women should be given equal share in the decision making process. Therefore it is necessary that Women should participate in the Gram Sabha meetings. Exploring the participation pattern of Women in Gram Sabha through case studies of Schedule areas of Orissa by in depth field studies of 9 Gram Sabhas, (Vasundhara, 2002) in her report observes that the participation of Women is dependent on the nature of the meeting and on the caste background of the participants. Here this observation raises a very important question i.e. How caste plays an important role in participation of women in the Gram Sabha meetings? This question is well answered in the study. The upper caste women are generally not interested in participation in Gram Sabha because it is believed that Gram Sabha is meant for the participation of Tribal or lower caste women only. This caste dynamic is responsible for low participation of women in the Gram Sabha meetings. Contrary to this, it has been observed that the Tribal women hesitate to participate in the March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 60

15 Gram Sabha meeting because it is believed that their confrontation with the upper caste women is not what is digestible to the rest of the community. The study also points out that in most of the cases Tribal women are not all invited in the meeting and if they dare to participate they might have to face serious consequences as women are considered mere beneficiaries but incapable of contributing in the decision making process. Hence, such ignorance leads to the lower participation of women in the Gram Sabha meeting. Alternative: Taking the above situation into consideration the best alternative to avoid such situation is to build a conducive environment in which women feel comfortable to come and share their views, ideas and participate in the decision making process. It is also necessary that women should build a strong relationship among themselves and also with other marginalized groups in order to move from marginalized to mainstream. Challenge: 5: Politicization of Gram Sabha meetings: The main aim behind having the Gram Sabha meetings is to discuss various issues which is concerned with the day to day life of the village community. Therefore, this platform should not be partial or political but unfortunately this is not the case with the Gram Sabhas conducted in the Schedule areas as observed by (Chakraboti, 2010) in his empirical work conducted in 49 Gram Sabha meetings of Birbhum district of a West Bengal. The study points out that very few Gram Sabhas have discussions on Budget and income expenditure statement, status of the development work in the village, future plans etc. It has been observed that in most of the meetings of the Gram Sabha the discussion politicized by long speeches on the success stories of the Panchayat and ruling political parties. The findings of the study suggests that due to such irrelevant discussions the Gram Sabhas are reduce to just a forum to promote political agendas and have failed to involve March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 61

16 major participation of people in planning and decision making process because of political interference which is indeed very alarming. Alternative: The above situation not only hinders the development of the village but also puts on stack the dignity and the soul aim of Gram Sabha in three ways : (1). The large scale and equitable participation in planning and implementation is hindered. (2). The development programmes are effected. (3). The community at large is disengage from politics and decision making. To avoid politicization of Gram Sabha, a strategy is needed to motivate an encourage the participation of people in the decision making process. Not just the devolution of power and participation of people will serve the purpose of Gram Sabha but there is also a need to have a support structure that enables local government to engage and participate more effectively at the grass root level. 6. Conclusion & Suggestions:- The overall discussion and analysis suggest that the enactment of PESA was a sweeping act by our democracy and to achieve its objectives requires intense efforts not only from the side of the Government but also from the side of the people for whom the act was enacted. The primary objective behind making Gram Sabha the Fulcrum of the act was to transfer powers to the Tribal people so that they can be included in the mainstream process of development and take forward the process of decentralization to the logical end. The Act has devolved powers and authorities to Gram Sabha so that maximum people can participate in the decision making process but unfortunately the biggest challenge today is low participation of village communities in the schedule areas. The participation is very low reason being the caste segregation, class difference, gender divide in the villages. The low participation of people is also responsible for unaccountability of the authorities as they take the village communities for granted and hardly the problems of the village community matter to them. From the above analysis it is clear that the main March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 62

17 reasons responsible for ambiguity in the Gram Sabha are : 1).The absence of Women and Weaker sections of the village (2).Lack of awareness among the people about the importance of Gram Sabha. The Gram Sabha in the above case studies that are located in the schedule areas does not set itself apart in terms of their performance with the Panchayats located in the non-schedule areas as they clearly fall short of the objective of the act which is to empower tribal communities by giving them autonomy in planning for their development. The Gram Sabha becomes toothless when the state is reluctant in devolving the powers to the Gram Sabha. There is need to educate village community and made aware about its roles. It is necessary that the village community should have feeling of oneness and consider Gram Sabha as their own informal meeting place where everyone has the right to express their view. The challenges which are mentioned in the study will not come to end until and unless PESA is reformed specially its operating environment. The thrust areas for the reform should be devolution of power and authorities to the grass roots (Gram Sabha) without the influence of the higher tiers of government. In order to have realistic development of the schedule areas of the country there is no requirement of the newer acts rather efforts should be made to work on the laws which already exist. Finally, it is important to understand that community has a the vital role to play in the governance of the Schedule areas. There is a need for greater participation, awareness and determination. Hence, in addition to the decentralized policy there is need for institutional performance and culture of accountability which would automatically boost greater participation of people. The population in the Schedule areas of the country is living in intense hardships like social oppression, bias, poverty etc. which creates a social environment to which most of the Indian are unknown. In such circumstances regulations like PESA if implemented honestly might help to the democracy and also the people of the schedule areas. It may take time but such regulations which aim at development and participation should not be initiated rapidly, frequently and without proper social infrastructure. March, VOL.9. ISSUE NO. 1 Page 63

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