Two Tribal Fiendly Acts And Their Implications

Abstract

This publication containing 19 articles and 03 Gazette notifications of Government of India is the outcome of intensive and extensive deliberations of a sustained three-day seminar organized by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) at Bhubaneswar from 26th to 28th September, 2007. The seminar dwelt upon two important and major legislations namely the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act, 1996 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Act 2 of 2007) besides various issues directly and indirectly relevant to tribal administration in relation to both the Acts. The contributors of articles are distinguished persons from a wide range of disciplines, from government, non-government, academic, social spheres and also tribal development practitioners. Implementation of PESA in Odisha had been a matter of constant debate amongst the interested and enlightened practitioners in different foras. While PESA engulfs about 9 states in India with large tribal population including Odisha, the Constitutional mandate seems to have received less attention by the State Governments in its implementation. These articles analyse the broad features of Constitutional mandate and reflects briefly the recommendations of Bhuria Committee; the demographic status of tribals and the conformity legislations the State Government haveand analytically traces the historical background of forest administration in the country and assumes the Forest Rights Act as an instrument to ensure Forest Dwellers Rights and the like. This is perhaps one of the first such publications with such deeper analytical approach on PESA Act as well as Scheduled Tribes and Other traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 and its implementation.It is hoped that this publication will be used as an useful reference material for researchers, academicians and policy makers and in turn will benefit the tribal people for whom these two epoch-making Tribal Acts have been formulated.