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
Who is the ex-officio member of Nagar Panchayat ?
i. Nominated members
ii. Member of State Legislature who becomes a member of Nagar Panchayat
iii. Member of Lok Sabha who becomes a member of Nagar Panchayat
iv. Representatives of members of State Legislature and Lok Sabha
Who accepts the resignation of Vice President of Municipal Council ?
Who functions as Secretary to the District Planning Committee?
One of the following is a major cause of problems of urban life in India?
Consider the following statements:
1. The minimum age prescribed for any person to be a member of Panchayat is 25 years.
2. A Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder period.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
