♦ After 25 years of statehood, Jharkhand has finally implemented rules under the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, or PESA, a law that claims to give tribal communities greater control over governance in Fifth Schedule Areas.

♦ The move has reignited debate at constitutional, political and social levels over the authority of the Gram Sabha, the role of the administration and the future of traditional self-governance systems. 

♦ Tribal organisations and customary leaders are holding meetings and reviews, asking whether the long-awaited right to self-rule will meaningfully strengthen village institutions or merely exist on paper.

♦ The PESA Act was enacted by Parliament in 1996 to extend constitutional protections of local self-governance to tribal-majority Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

♦ Eight of India’s ten Fifth Schedule states have already implemented it. Jharkhand has done so only now, after decades of demand.

♦ The new rules apply fully in 13 of Jharkhand’s 24 districts, including Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardaga, Gumla, Simdega, Latehar, East and West Singhbhum, Saraikela, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur.

♦ Partial implementation has begun in Palamu, Godda and Garhwa.

♦ According to the 2011 Census, Jharkhand’s tribal population stands at 26.3 percent of its total population of about 32.9 million.

♦ More than half live in 12,164 villages.

♦ The state is home to 32 tribal communities, eight of which are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.