Under which Schedule of the Constitution of India can the transfer of tribal land to private parties for mining be declared null and void?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Fifth Schedule
The Fifth Schedule protects tribal land in Scheduled Areas: the Governor can make regulations that prohibit or restrict transfer of tribal land, and the Supreme Court has used this scheme to hold that such land cannot be leased to private parties for mining.
- ✓ (b) Paragraph 5(2) of the Fifth Schedule lets the Governor prohibit or restrict transfer of land by or among Scheduled Tribe members in a Scheduled Area. In Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) the Supreme Court held that tribal land in Scheduled Areas cannot be leased to non-tribals or private industries.
- ✗ (c) The Ninth Schedule lists Acts and Regulations protected from challenge on the ground of clashing with Fundamental Rights; it does not deal with tribal land.
- ✗ (a) The Third Schedule contains the forms of oaths and affirmations of officials, nothing on land.
- ✗ (d) The Twelfth Schedule lists the functions of municipalities, not protection of tribal land.
Remember · Fifth Schedule = Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (Governor's regulations on tribal land); Samatha (1997) barred mining leases on tribal land to private parties.
Sources
- Constitution of India, Fifth Schedule, Part B, paragraph 5 ↗ “(a) prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area”
- Land and Governance under the Fifth Schedule, Ministry of Tribal Affairs (compendium) ↗ “The Court was asked to rule on whether the grant of a mining lease, in a Scheduled Area to a non-tribal was in violation of laws preventing alienation of Adivasi lands. … Government lands, forest lands and tribal lands in the scheduled area cannot be leased out to non tribals or to private industries”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·