The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday declined to lift the stay imposed on the state government’s allocation of sand ghats, while closely monitoring the implementation of the Panchayat Extension of Schedule Areas (PESA) Act rules.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar was hearing a petition filed by the Adivasi Buddhi Jeevi Manch alleging non-compliance with earlier court orders. Those orders had mandated that powers for allocation of natural resources in scheduled areas be vested in gram sabhas under the PESA framework.
Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that the draft rules under the PESA Act had been circulated to 17 departments for their feedback. While opinions from 12 departments have been received, inputs from five departments are still awaited. He assured the bench that once these are in, the draft rules will be placed before the state cabinet for approval.
The bench scheduled the next hearing for October 30 and directed the state government to apprise it of the progress in framing and implementing the PESA rules by then.
The Adivasi Buddhi Jeevi Manch had filed a contempt petition seeking enforcement of the High Court’s directions on implementing PESA rules. The group argued that proper division and auction of natural resources, including sand ghats, must take place through scheduled area bodies in accordance with the Act.
On July 29, 2024, the High Court had directed the state government to ensure that PESA rules are put into effect before proceeding with auctions of sand ghats or issuing mining certificates for minor minerals. The ongoing stay on allocation will continue until further orders.
