Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996
the
Legislature of a State shall not make any law which is inconsistent with
any of the following features, namely:-
(a) a State legislation on the Panchayats that may be made shall be in
consonance with the customary law, social and religious practices
and traditional management practices of community resources;
(b) a village shall ordinarily consist of a habitation or a group of
habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a
community and managing its affairs in accordance with traditions
and customs;
(c) every village shall have a Gram Sabha consisting of persons whose
names are included in the electoral rolls for the Panchayat at the
village level;
(d) every Gram Sabha shall be competent to safeguard and preserve the
traditions and customs of the people, their cultural identity,
community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution;
(e) every Gram Sabha shalli. approve of the plans, programmes and projects for social
and economic development before such plans, programmes and
projects are taken up for implementation by the Panchayat at the
village level;
ii. be responsible for the identification or selection of
persons as beneficiaries under the poverty alleviation and other
programmes;
the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be
consulted before making the acquisition of land in the Scheduled
Areas for development projects and before re-setling or
rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the Scheduled
Areas; the actual planning and implementation of the projects in the
Scheduled Areas shall be coordinated at the State level;
(j) planning and management of minor water bodies in the Scheduled
Areas shall be entrusted to Panchayats at the appropriate level;
(k) the recommendations of the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the
appropriate level shall be made mandatory prior to grant of
prospecting licence or mining lease for minor minerals in the
Scheduled Areas;
(l) the prior recommendation of the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at
the appropriate level shall be made mandatory for grant of
concession for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction;
(m) while endowing Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas with such powers
and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
institutions of self-government, a State Legislature shall ensure that
the Panchayats at the appropriate level and the Gram Sabha are
endowed specifically with-
(i) the power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict
the sale and consumption of any intoxicant;
(ii) the ownership of minor forest produce;
(iii) 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;
(iv) the power to manage village markets by whatever name
called;
(v) the power to exercise control over money lending to the
Scheduled Tribes;
(vi) thepower to exercise control over institutions and
functionaries in all social sectors;
(vii) the power to control over local plans and resources for
such plans including tribal sub-plans;
(n) the State Legislations that may endow Panchayats with powers and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions
of self-government shall contain safeguards to ensure that Panchayats at
the higher level do not assume the powers and authority of any
Panchayat at the lower level or of the Gram Sabha;
(o) the State Legislature shall endeavour to follow the pattern of the Sixth
Schedule to the Constitution while designing the administrative
arrangements in the Panchayats at district levels in the Scheduled Areas
