Fifth Schedule: Scheduled Areas and Tribes Advisory Council

Fifth schedule tribal areas are governed by a distinct constitutional mechanism under Article 244(1), laying down special rules for administering areas with a significant tribal population and protecting Scheduled Tribe welfare there. Here the Governor holds special powers above the usual chain of executive administration, and a dedicated body — the Tribes Advisory Council — gives the tribal community a voice in decisions affecting it.

Structure of the Fifth Schedule

The Fifth Schedule has three parts. Part A (General) clarifies that, for this Schedule, "State" excludes Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — their tribal areas fall under the Sixth Schedule instead — and that although a state's executive power extends to its Scheduled Areas, this is subject to the Schedule's special provisions. Every Governor of a state with Scheduled Areas must send an annual report to the President on their administration, or report whenever the President requires it; the Union's executive power extends to directing the state on how such areas should be administered. Part B covers administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes — where the Tribes Advisory Council and the Governor's regulation-making power appear. Part C defines a "Scheduled Area" and how one is declared.

Declaring and Administering Scheduled Areas

A "Scheduled Area" is any area the President declares to be one, by order; the President may later modify the declaration — including or excluding territory, altering boundaries, or withdrawing it. Areas considered for such declaration tend to have a preponderance of tribal population, form a compact and viable geographical unit, and show marked economic backwardness relative to neighbouring areas. The largest administrative unit that can form a Scheduled Area is a district; the smallest is a cluster of villages within a block.

Declaring an area a Scheduled Area does not strip the state of its executive authority there, nor hand full administration to local bodies; the Union, in turn, cannot directly take over administration either. Instead, the Governor holds special powers over how laws apply, and Chief Ministers must submit annual reports on Scheduled Area administration to the Union Home Ministry.

The Tribes Advisory Council

Paragraph 4 of the Fifth Schedule provides for a Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) in every state that has Scheduled Areas. Where a state has Scheduled Tribes but no Scheduled Areas, the President may direct that a TAC be set up there too — this is discretionary, not automatic.

The Council cannot exceed 20 members, of whom roughly three-fourths must be Scheduled Tribe representatives sitting in the state's Legislative Assembly. If the number of ST members in the Assembly is smaller than the seats reserved for them on the Council, the remaining seats are filled by other members of Scheduled Tribes from outside the Assembly.

The Council's duty is to advise the state government, through the Governor, on matters concerning the welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes that are referred to it. The Governor may frame rules on the Council's composition, the mode of appointing its members and Chairman, the appointment of its staff, its meeting procedure, and other incidental matters.

During the Constituent Assembly's debate on the Fifth Schedule, several members objected that confining the Council's advisory role to matters "referred" to it by the Governor would weaken its purpose, and pushed for it to also be consulted on Scheduled Area administration, not tribal welfare alone; some also wanted a TAC to be mandatory wherever Scheduled Tribes existed. These proposals did not survive — the final text kept the Governor's discretion and the "referred matters" formulation.

The Governor's Law-Making Power over Scheduled Areas

Paragraph 5 gives the Governor an unusual power: by public notification, the Governor may direct that a particular Act of Parliament or of the state legislature will not apply to a Scheduled Area, or will apply there only with specified exceptions and modifications.

Beyond this, the Governor may make regulations for the peace and good government of a Scheduled Area — among other things, prohibiting or restricting land transfer by or among Scheduled Tribe members, regulating land allotment to them, and regulating money-lending to Scheduled Tribes. In framing such a regulation, the Governor may even repeal or amend an existing Act applicable to the area. No regulation takes effect until the President assents to it, and where a Tribes Advisory Council exists, the Governor must consult it first.

Union Oversight: Article 339

Article 339 gives the Union a supervisory role over Scheduled Area administration. The President may, at any time, appoint a Commission to report on Scheduled Area administration and Scheduled Tribe welfare in the states, and was required to appoint one at the expiration of ten years from the Constitution's commencement. The Union's executive power also extends to directing a state on schemes essential for Scheduled Tribe welfare. Article 275 supplements this by charging grants for Scheduled Tribe welfare and tribal-area administration on the Consolidated Fund of India.

Fifth Schedule vs Sixth Schedule

Both schedules provide special administration for tribal regions, but the governance model differs sharply.

PESA and Panchayats in Scheduled Areas

The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends Part IX of the Constitution — the Panchayati Raj provisions — to Scheduled Areas with modifications suited to tribal self-governance, and applies across the ten states with Fifth Schedule areas. Under this framework, state legislatures must ensure Gram Sabhas and Panchayats in Scheduled Areas hold specific powers: control over minor forest produce, prevention of land alienation and restoration of unlawfully alienated tribal land, management of village markets, control over money-lending to Scheduled Tribes, and control over local plans and resources including tribal sub-plans. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 works alongside this framework, recognising forest dwellers' rights over produce such as bamboo.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• The Fifth Schedule flows from Article 244(1); the Sixth Schedule from Article 244(2).
• Tribes Advisory Council: maximum 20 members, about three-fourths drawn from ST MLAs.
• Match-the-schedule questions frequently test Fifth versus Sixth Schedule administrative machinery.

Mains

• Effectiveness of the Tribes Advisory Council as a safeguard, given its purely advisory character (GS2, polity and governance).
• Comparative evaluation of the Fifth and Sixth Schedule governance models.
• Role of PESA in operationalising self-governance within Scheduled Areas.

FAQ

Q1. What is the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution? It is a set of provisions under Article 244(1) laying down a special administrative framework for Scheduled Areas and for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

Q2. Who declares an area as a Scheduled Area? The President, by order, declares an area a Scheduled Area and may later modify or withdraw that declaration.

Q3. What is the Tribes Advisory Council? It is a body of up to 20 members, about three-fourths of them Scheduled Tribe representatives from the state Legislative Assembly, that advises the Governor on matters concerning Scheduled Tribe welfare referred to it.

Q4. How is the Fifth Schedule different from the Sixth Schedule? The Fifth Schedule relies on the Governor and an advisory council with no legislative powers, while the Sixth Schedule, applicable to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, creates autonomous District and Regional Councils with legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Q5. What role does PESA play in Scheduled Areas? PESA, 1996 extends Panchayati Raj provisions to Scheduled Areas with modifications, giving Gram Sabhas and Panchayats specific powers over land, forest produce, money-lending and local resource planning.

Quick Revision

• Fifth Schedule flows from Article 244(1); governs Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes.
• Tribes Advisory Council: maximum 20 members, about three-fourths ST MLAs.
• Governor reports annually to the President on Scheduled Area administration.
• Governor can regulate land transfer, land allotment and money-lending; regulations need Presidential assent.
• Regulation-making requires consulting the TAC where one exists.
• Article 339: Union oversight via a Commission, mandatory after ten years of the Constitution's commencement.
• Sixth Schedule (Article 244(2)) covers Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram through District/Regional Councils.
• PESA, 1996 extends Panchayati Raj to Scheduled Areas with modifications.

Sources

• Constitution of India — Fifth Schedule and Article 244
• Constitution of India — Article 339
• The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

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.

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