RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

Indian society is known as a rural society. Most of the Indian population resides in rural area. So the development of India means the development of this rural area. And the development of rural area means the development of all types of depressed, oppressed, poor and downtrodden groups of the society. According to 2001 census in India 8.2 percent and in Maharashtra around 8.9 percent of population belongs to Scheduled Tribes and 87.3 per cent of the ST population of Maharashtra is residing in the rural areas. This society is politically, socially and economically backward compare to other social groups of the society. So you should think first about this big group for the rural development. In this manner policy maker establishes an administrative setup for rural areas. Further they introduce various committees for strengthening rural development. But the 73rd constitutional amendment is the milestone in this regards. For particular the development of tribal areas (Fifth Scheduled Areas according to the Constitution of India) Panchayats Extension to the Scheduled Areas Act, 1996 (PESA) passed in 1996. According to PESA act ‘management' of natural resources transferred to the local society. But there is a problem of its proper implementation. This paper delves in some detail into the manner in which the States' have subverted the mandate of the Central Legislation through carefully using the wordings in law to make the implementation vague and ineffective especially in the context of ‘community resources' in scheduled areas. This is comparative study of implementation of PESA Act in various states in India.