• The PESA Act was enacted to extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
• Part IX, comprising Articles 243-243ZT of the Constitution, contains provisions relating to municipalities and cooperative societies.
  • Provisions for rural bodies were added by the 73rd Amendment.
• Objectives
  • To extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the panchayats to the scheduled areas with certain modifications 
  • To provide self-rule for the bulk of the tribal population
  • To have village governance with participatory democracy, and to make the gram sabha a nucleus of all activities
  • To evolve a suitable administrative framework consistent with traditional practices
  • To safeguard and to preserve the traditions and customs of tribal communities 
  • To empower panchayats at the appropriate levels with specific powers conducive to tribal requirements
  • To prevent panchayats at the higher level from assuming the powers and authority of panchayats at the lower level of the gram sabha

Source: The Indian Express