The Government enacted the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in 1996. Which one of the following is not identified as its objective?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) To create autonomous regions in tribal areas
PESA, 1996 extends the Panchayat system (Part IX of the Constitution) to Scheduled Areas and gives Gram Sabhas special powers. It aims to secure tribal self-governance, protect customs and traditional rights, and safeguard tribals from exploitation. It does not create autonomous regions. Autonomous districts and regions belong to the separate Sixth Schedule arrangement.
- ✗ (a) Self-governance is a core aim. The Act gives Gram Sabhas and Panchayats special powers so that tribal communities can govern themselves.
- ✗ (b) The Act makes every Gram Sabha competent to safeguard the traditions, customs, cultural identity and community resources of the people. This recognises their traditional rights.
- ✓ (c) The Act only extends Part IX (Panchayats), with modifications, to the Scheduled Areas referred to in Article 244(1). It sets up no autonomous regions or districts. Those come under the Sixth Schedule, which covers tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
- ✗ (d) The Act protects tribals against exploitation through Gram Sabha and Panchayat powers. These include control over money-lending, prevention of land alienation and restoration of unlawfully alienated land, and a say before minor-mineral concessions are granted.
Remember · PESA 1996 extends Part IX (Panchayats) to Fifth Schedule areas and strengthens the Gram Sabha. Autonomous districts and regions belong to the Sixth Schedule, not PESA.
Sources
- The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) ↗ “An Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas. … 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”
- PIB: Report on National Conference on PESA (Ministry of Panchayati Raj) ↗ “The PESA Act provides the constitutional framework to preserve tribal self-governance, culture, customary laws and to protect their traditional way of living in Schedule V areas.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
