Ex-CM Champai Soren slams J’khand govt for not implementing PESA Act

Jamshedpur, Sep 16 (PTI) A day after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren held a high-level meeting on the Panchayat Extension of Scheduled Area (PESA) Act, his predecessor Champai Soren on Tuesday claimed the issue has come into discussion following the Adivasi Maha Darbar attended by him on September 14.

Stating that the Union government introduced the law to protect the traditional customs and practices of tribals, he slammed the JMM-led administration for not implementing the Act.

Despite repeated court directives in this regard, Jharkhand has not yet been able to implement it, even 25 years after the state was carved out of Bihar, Champai Soren said in a statement.

He alleged that the coalition government of Jharkhand does not want to implement the PESA Act.

Referring to his tenure as the CM, the BJP MLA asserted that he had included some special provisions to empower traditional village assemblies (Gram Sabha) after reviewing the PESA Act and proposed to hand over sand ghat and mining of minor minerals to tribals body.

But the government did not initiate any action to make it effective even after one year, he alleged.

Soren demanded implementation of the PESA Act, as its objective is to strengthen the tribal social fabric, he said.

On Monday, Jharkhand CM held a high-level meeting on the rules of PESA Act, as well as powers, rights and functions of Gram Sabhas in the state.

Champai Soren was the chief minister of Jharkhand between February 2 and July 3 last year, when he was in JMM. He joined the BJP in August 2024.

He lamented that the traditional tribal lifestyle is not followed these days.

“People are converted and they go to church. Is Marang buru or Sing Bonga (tribal deities) worshipped there?” he said.

The BJP leader said religious conversion is a major threat to tribal society and needs to be stopped, “otherwise our culture and identity will be wiped out”. PTI BS NN