Administration of Scheduled Areas and Welfare of Scheduled Tribes

Scheduled areas administration is the distinct constitutional arrangement under which certain tribal-majority tracts of India are governed differently from ordinary districts, with the Union retaining a supervisory role over both the territory and the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes living there. This framework rests on Article 244 in Part X of the Constitution, given teeth by Article 339, and elaborated through the Fifth and Sixth Schedules.

Constitutional Basis: Article 244 and Article 339

Article 244 creates two separate regimes. The Fifth Schedule applies to Scheduled Areas in any state other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, while the Sixth Schedule governs tribal areas within those four north-eastern states. Article 339 then gives the Union two specific levers over this administration. Under Article 339(1), the President "may at any time and shall, at the expiration of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution" appoint a Commission to report on the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in the states, with the President free to define the Commission's composition, powers and procedure. Under Article 339(2), the executive power of the Union extends to directing a state on drawing up and executing schemes considered essential for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes within that state.

The Fifth Schedule: Governing Scheduled Areas

The Fifth Schedule sets out how a Scheduled Area is created and run. A Scheduled Area is declared, altered or revoked by an Order of the President, based on factors such as the preponderance of tribal population, compactness of the territory, its economic backwardness, and its administrative viability. The largest administrative unit that can form a Scheduled Area is a district, and the smallest is a cluster of villages within a block. Ten states currently have Fifth Schedule Scheduled Areas: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.

Within the Scheduled Areas, executive power ordinarily rests with the state government, but the Governor occupies a special position: laws of Parliament or the state legislature apply to a Scheduled Area with modifications the Governor notifies, and the Governor may restrict the transfer of land from tribal to non-tribal persons and regulate money-lending. Every state with Scheduled Areas must submit an annual Governor's report to the President on their administration, and the Union's executive power extends to directing the state on that administration. Declaring an area a Scheduled Area does not strip the state of executive authority, nor hand administration to a local body — the state continues to govern, subject to Union oversight and the Governor's discretion.

Tribes Advisory Council

Every state with Scheduled Areas must set up a Tribes Advisory Council, and the President may direct any other state with a Scheduled Tribe population (even without Scheduled Areas) to do the same. The Council has not more than twenty members, of whom roughly three-fourths must be Scheduled Tribe representatives in the state legislative assembly. Its role is to advise the state government on matters relating to the welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes as referred to it.

The Sixth Schedule: Tribal Areas of the North-East

The Sixth Schedule applies only to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and creates a more autonomous structure than the Fifth Schedule. Tribal areas in these states are constituted as autonomous districts and, where needed, autonomous regions, each with its own District or Regional Council exercising legislative, judicial and administrative functions over specified subjects. Article 244A additionally allows Parliament to form an autonomous state comprising certain tribal areas of Assam, with its own local legislature or Council of Ministers, or both.

Union Oversight: Commissions and Directions

Article 339(1) has been invoked twice so far. A Commission on the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes was appointed in 1960 under U.N. Dhebar, submitting its report in 1961. A second Commission followed in 2002 under Dilip Singh Bhuria, reporting in 2004. Article 339(2) supplements this by letting the Union direct a state to execute welfare schemes for Scheduled Tribes — tribal welfare, though largely a state subject, remains a continuing Union concern. Article 275 reinforces this financially: Parliament may charge grants-in-aid on the Consolidated Fund of India to help states meet costs of welfare schemes for Scheduled Tribes and tribal-area administration.

Statutory and Other Safeguards

Beyond the constitutional scheme, Parliament has extended other protections into tribal areas. The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends Part IX of the Constitution — dealing with Panchayats — to Scheduled Areas, but with modifications suited to tribal self-governance; it applies across the ten states that have Fifth Schedule areas. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes over forest land and produce, including treating bamboo as a minor forest produce that forest dwellers may own. On the institutional side, the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 split the composite National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies — the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes — giving tribal welfare a dedicated constitutional watchdog.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 339 and its two clauses: the decennial/anytime Commission, and Union directions on welfare schemes.
• Fifth Schedule mechanics: declaration by Presidential Order, largest/smallest administrative units, the ten Fifth Schedule states, and the Tribes Advisory Council's composition.
• Sixth Schedule states and the nature of District/Regional Councils; Article 244A.
• Names and years of the two Article 339(1) Commissions (Dhebar 1960-61; Bhuria 2002-04).
• PESA 1996 and the Forest Rights Act 2006 as statutory extensions of tribal welfare policy.

Mains

• Compare the administrative philosophy of the Fifth Schedule (state administration under Union/Governor oversight) with the Sixth Schedule (autonomous self-government) — GS2, federalism and special provisions.
• Evaluate whether the Fifth Schedule's oversight mechanisms (annual Governor reports, Union directions) have translated into effective tribal welfare outcomes.
• Assess PESA's role in extending panchayati raj principles to Scheduled Areas without diluting customary tribal governance.

FAQ

Q1. What is the difference between a Scheduled Area and a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule? A Scheduled Area, under the Fifth Schedule, remains under state administration with Union and Governor oversight. A Sixth Schedule tribal area, found only in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, is administered by autonomous District or Regional Councils with their own legislative, judicial and administrative powers.

Q2. Who declares an area as a Scheduled Area? The President, by Order, declares, increases, decreases or otherwise alters a Scheduled Area, guided by factors such as tribal population concentration, compactness, viability and backwardness of the area.

Q3. What is the role of the Tribes Advisory Council? It is a body of up to twenty members, about three-fourths of them Scheduled Tribe MLAs, that advises the state government on the welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes in matters referred to it.

Q4. What Commissions have been set up under Article 339(1)? Two so far: one under U.N. Dhebar (appointed 1960, reported 1961) and one under Dilip Singh Bhuria (appointed 2002, reported 2004), both examining the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.

Q5. Does declaring an area as a Scheduled Area transfer administration away from the state? No. The state government continues to exercise executive power in the area; the Fifth Schedule adds Union oversight and special Governor powers rather than replacing state administration.

Quick Revision

• Article 244 (Part X) — basis for Fifth and Sixth Schedule administration.
• Article 339(1) — Commission on Scheduled Areas/ST welfare, compulsory after 10 years.
• Article 339(2) — Union can direct states on ST welfare schemes.
• Fifth Schedule — 10 states; Presidential Order declares Scheduled Areas; Governor reports annually to President.
• Tribes Advisory Council — up to 20 members, about 3/4th ST MLAs.
• Sixth Schedule — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram; District/Regional Councils.
• Article 244A — autonomous state within Assam's tribal areas.
• Article 275 — Union grants for ST welfare and tribal area administration.
• Dhebar Commission (1960-61); Bhuria Commission (2002-04).
• PESA 1996 extends Part IX to Scheduled Areas with modifications.
• Forest Rights Act 2006 — forest dweller rights, including bamboo as minor forest produce.
• 89th Amendment (2003) — split National Commission for SCs and STs into two bodies.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Articles 244, 244A and 339 — legislative.gov.in
• Fifth Schedule and Sixth Schedule, Constitution of India — legislative.gov.in
• The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 — Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 — Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
• Constitution (Eighty-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2003 — legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.