Part A: Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes

Articles 189(a) and 190(1), Draft Constitution of India 1948

Part 1

General

1. Executive power of a State in scheduled areas: Subject to the provisions of this Schedule the executive power of a State for the time being specified in Part I of the First Schedule extends to the scheduled areas therein.

2. Report by the Governor to the Government of India regarding the administration of the scheduled areas: The Governor of each State having scheduled areas therein shall annually, or whenever so required by the Government of India, make report to that Government regarding the administration of the scheduled areas in that State and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the administration of the said areas.

Article 244 (1), Constitution of India 1950

Part A

General

1. Interpretation.—In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression “State” means a State specified in Part A or Part B of the First Schedule but does not include the State of Assam.

2. Executive power of a State in Scheduled Areas.—Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the executive power of a State extends to the Scheduled Areas therein.

3. Report by the Governor or Rajpramukh to the President regarding the administration of Scheduled Areas.—The Governor or Rajpramukh of each State having Scheduled Areas therein shall annually, or whenever so required by the President, make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Scheduled Areas in that State and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the administration of the said areas.

The Fifth Schedule (Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, 1950) of the Draft Constitution of 1948 was discussed in the Constituent Assembly on 5 September 1949. It dealt with the administration and control of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any State mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule.

The Drafting Committee Chairman began the proceedings with an amendment to the Schedule and provided detailed reasons for the changes made. First, it was no longer required for every State to have a Tribes Advisory Council. The Committee felt that States which did not have a Scheduled Area should not be obliged to form an Advisory Council—this could be left to the discretion of the President. Second, the Governor of a State would no longer be bound by the advice of the Council in determining the applicability of a law made by Parliament or State Legislature to the Scheduled Area. Third, since the scheduled areas in all States were not yet fully demarcated, the Chairman argued that it would be better to leave it to the President to identify these areas rather than have a separate part in the Draft Schedule listing the Scheduled Areas. Fourth, a new provision giving the Parliament the power to amend the Schedule was introduced. The Chairman made the case that with time, circumstances could change and it should be open to Parliament to make appropriate changes to the Schedule.

Some members were unhappy that the ‘Scheduled Tribes’ were left out from some parts of the Schedule. A member argued that since it was unclear how the scheduled areas would be demarcated; It was possible that there could be States with no Schedule Areas but with a Scheduled Tribe population. Hence, it was important that all provisions that apply to Scheduled Areas also specifically apply to Scheduled Tribes irrespective of whether they are in a Scheduled Area or not. The member was also extremely disappointed that the Chairman’s amendment made the Tribes Advisory Council subservient to the Governor of the State. He found it unacceptable that the Council will no longer have an effective and real say in the Administration of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. He also argued that the Translation Committee should not translate the term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ as ‘Banjati’, but use the term ‘Adibasi’. This would be in accordance with the term used by the people of these groups for themselves.

One member wanted the primary responsibility of the welfare and administration of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes to lie with the Union Government and Parliament rather than the Governor. Another member largely accepted the Chairman’s amendment but pushed for making all tribal areas into Centrally administered areas. He felt that the provinces were not economically strong enough to take care of the needs of the Tribal population and hence, it would be better for the Centre to take control of these regions. Some members were wary of creating separate Scheduled Areas and Tribes Councils, suggesting that this could trigger separatist tendencies within the population.

A Drafting Committee member came to the defence of the revised Draft Schedule. He explained that the old Draft was found to be unsatisfactory for 2 reasons. The first reason was that the old schedule suggested a uniform scheme for the whole country even though the problem of the Scheduled tribes differed between the States or regions. The second reason was that the old draft was only meant for States which were previously Provinces and the revised Draft would now also extend the provisions of the schedule to the Princely States.

Despite several amendments being moved by the Assembly members, the Fifth Schedule as moved by the Drafting Committee Chairman was adopted as part of the Constitution on 5 September 1949.