New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) A two-day regional conference on strengthening the PESA Act will begin in Pune on Thursday, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said.

The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, gives special powers to Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) in a state's scheduled areas, especially for the management of natural resources.

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The conference will be inaugurated by Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration, an official statement said on Wednesday.

Besides an inaugural session, three technical sessions on 'Effectiveness of Gram Sabhas in PESA areas', including their role in ease of living in these areas, 'Minor Forest Produce and Minor Minerals in PESA areas,' and 'Role of Non-Government Stakeholders in strengthening the implementation of PESA' would be held.

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The five participating states -- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh -- will make brief presentations on the themes, the statement said.

On the second day on Friday, three technical sessions on 'Land Laws and Money Lending Laws in PESA Areas,' 'Augmentation of Own Source Revenue of PESA Panchayats' and 'Enforcement of excise-related provisions in PESA areas' are planned, it said.

As part of the ministry's ongoing efforts to promote and accelerate the effective adoption and implementation of the PESA Act, the regional workshop will serve as a platform for sharing insights, experiences and way forward in its effective implementation, according to the statement.

The conference will feature engaging discussions, presentations, and well-designed technical sessions with experts from the field, civil society organisations, and representatives from the participating states, it said.

It will be the first of the two regional conferences designed and conceptualised by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for states under the PESA Act. Discussions with the remaining five states -- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Telangana -- will take place during a separate conference in February, the statement said.

This conference aims to evaluate states' progress in implementing the PESA Act and foster a shared outlook on its impact at the grassroots level.

It will also discuss the impact assessment on the implementation of the PESA Act and comparison between PESA and non-PESA areas in the same district for understating the role of the Act in the development of tribal communities of the country, the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)