#172: Article 244 | Simplified for Mains & Pre
4 mins read and you will never have to read this topic again
Article 244 of Indian Constitution
Confusing! Read this post to simplify
The Article that caters to 705 ST communities of 🇮🇳
That is 8.6% of the Indian population! 😮
This post will save your time on notes of 5th & 6th Schedule Areas
Bookmark & make one page note🔖
Article 244(1)
Application of 5th schedule provisions for STs in any state other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
Article 244(2)
Application of 6th schedule provisions for states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
Toh Scheduled Area hai kya and how’s it decided?
A lot of resources I found online confused me.
I explored keywords in debates of Constituent Assembly to no avail☹️
I dug deeper to find out👇🏼
There’s no constitutional or statutory criteria to identify Scheduled Areas🤯
So, how’s an area decided to be a Scheduled Area?🤔
Answer lies in Dhebar Commission Report of 1961
• Preponderance of tribal population
• Compactness & reasonable size of the area
• Viable administrative entity such as district/block/taluk etc.
• Economic backwardness of area relative to neighbouring areas
At present, 11.3% of Indian land in 10 states is declared as scheduled area.
Governance of Scheduled Areas (SA)
Step by step guide below
• President notifies the Scheduled Areas
• This requires the states to constitute a Tribal Advisory Council (TAC)
• The TAC with up to 20 ST members advise Governor on related matters
• Governor submits report to President
Further,
• GoI can direct State regarding SA admin, Governor can repeal or amend laws of Parliament or State Assembly for SA
• Governor can make desired regulations related to land of tribals
All of this sounds great on paper.
But there are flaws and issues that aspirants need to be aware of!
1. There is a lack of clarity on following to declare an area as Scheduled Area
• Minimum population percentage of STs is not defined
• Compactness: all proposed villages shall be contiguous (or they miss out)
• Unit area determination led to arbitrary politico-administrative decisions
2. Administrative inaction
• 58% STs remain outside purview due to lack of contiguous areas
• Provisions of Governor/President have remained a dead letter despite 73/74 Amendment & PESA 1996 leading to roadblocks
What are some solutions to above problems for Mains answers, CSEWhy?
Yes! Here are recommendations from two committees that you can quote!👇🏼
• SA & ST Commission 2002:
All revenue villages with 40% and more tribal population (as per Census 1951) be considered as Scheduled Area (yet to elicit a response)
• Bhuria Committee
Recognize a hamlet (or a group of them) which manages its own affairs as the basic unit of Self-governance in SAs
Bonus point💡
• Contiguous exception
This condition is not mandatory as such. Kerala has made recommendations ignoring this. (remember state’s name)
Way Forward
• Need to notify all habitations with STs as largest social group as SAs irrespective of the contiguity
• Increase geographical limit of such habitations to ‘community forest resource’ area on forest land u/ FRA 2006
• Redraw the boundaries of village, panchayat, taluka & district to have these as fully Scheduled Areas
It took me nearly 3 hours to simplify this article to make it easier to note for You. Save this post to your notes!
(This post is an adoption of The Hindu article. Add ons and edits done to make it easier for aspirants. No copyright infringement intended)