Under the PESA Act, 1996, which authority is vested with the ownership of minor forest produce in Scheduled Areas ?
Gram Sabha and Panchayat
The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 extends Part IX of the Constitution to Fifth Schedule areas, but adapts it so that traditional community authority is preserved rather than displaced by the bureaucracy.
Section 4(m)(ii) of PESA vests the ownership of minor forest produce in the Gram Sabha and the Panchayats at the appropriate level. This lets tribal communities themselves collect, price and trade items such as tendu leaf, mahua, bamboo, honey and lac, which are their main source of cash income.
The other authorities are not the owners under the Act. The District Collector and local administrative bodies exercise revenue and regulatory functions, Joint Forest Management Committees are a co-management arrangement with the forest department, and the State Forest Department with TRIFED acts in procurement and marketing support rather than as owner.
Hence, the answer is the Gram Sabha and Panchayat.
Important Questions from Local Government
Which one of the following is not a power of Panchayats under Article 243G?
- Panchayati Raj Institutions are primarily the institutions of
Which one of the following provisions of the Constitution of India deals with District Planning Committee?
Which of the following are the basic features of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act ?
1. Provides for a three-tier structure of panchayats in the village, intermediary and district levels.
2. Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and women in all the tiers of panchayats.
3. Election to panchayats under the supervision of the State Election Commissions.
4. Introduction of the 11 th Schedule to the Constitution.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
The Panchyati Raj System under Part-IX of the Constitution of India does not apply to the States of:
