On 26th September 2024, Union Minister of State (MoS) Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) inaugurated and addressed National Conference on the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) at Dr. Ambedkar International Central in New Delhi, Delhi.
- This Conference marks a significant step forward in the Government of India (GoI)’s commitment to enhancing governance and development in Scheduled Areas (SAs) across India.
- The conference witnessed the launch of PESA – GPDP (Gram Panchayat Development Plan) portal and seven action-oriented Specialized Training Modules aimed to enhance the effectiveness of GPDPs and training initiatives.
Key Participants: Over 500 participants from 10 PESA states, including State Panchayati Raj Ministers, senior officials from Central and State Departments, representatives from all 3-tiers of the Panchayati Raj systems and representatives from Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) participated in the conference.
About 7 Comprehensive Training Modules:
i.These action-oriented training modules are developed under the PESA Act, 1996.
ii.These modules focus on critical areas including Prevention of Land Alienation, Strengthening Gram Sabha, Control Over Money Lending, Customary Mode of Dispute Resolution, Intoxication, Minor Forest Produce, and Minor Minerals.
iii.These modules aim to strengthen PESA Gram Sabhas by facilitating guidance on their delineated powers, which will enable them to generate and manage their Own Source Revenue (OSR), and to preserve their socio-cultural norms and traditions.
Highlights of National Conference on PESA:
i.The conference witnessed the discussion on transformative steps if GoI such as Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan(PMJUGA).
ii.The MoPR also introduced initiatives like the Functional Activity Mapping Dashboard for monitoring State actions on the 29 Subjects outlined in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution, the PESA Training Manual for Vth Schedule Areas, and the PESA–GPDP Portal to facilitate village-based development planning.
iv.Panel discussions on key topics like “PESA Gram Sabha: Visualising the Way Forward”; “Strengthening the PESA Economies: Forests Rights Act (FRA), Minor Forest Produce (MFP), and Minor Minerals” and “Empowering the Last Mile: Saturation of PESA Training Modules and Effective IEC” were also held during the conference.
About PM JANMAN Yojana:
i.In 2023, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had approved the PM JANMAN Yojana.
ii.The Centre Government has allocated budgetary allocation of Rs 24,104 crore (Central Share:Rs 15,336 crore and state share: Rs 8,768 crore) from Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24) to FY26 under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).
iii.The key beneficiaries under PM JANMAN yojana are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), comprising 75 communities located in 18 states and the Union Territory (UT) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
iv.The scheme has classified 11 important areas/ critical interventions across 9 line ministries.
About Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan(PM-JUGA)
i.On 18th September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved PM JUGA with budgetary allocation of Rs 79,156 crore, of which Centre government will provide Rs 56,333 crore and state governments will provide Rs 22, 823 crore.
ii.The main objective of the scheme is to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, by adopting saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts.
iii.In Union Budget for FY25, the GoI announced that the scheme will cover around 63,000 villages, comprising 549 districts and 2,740 blocks spread across all tribal majority villages across 30 states/UTs, which will benefit over 5 crore tribal people.
About Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR):
Union Minister- Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh (Constituency- Munger, Bihar)
Minister of State (MoS) – S.P. Singh Baghel (Constituency- Agra, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
