5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution: Criteria, Provisions & State-wise Details Notified Under 5th Schedule Areas

The 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with the provisions related to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Schedule Tribes.

Originally, the Constitution of India included only 8 schedules, but currently there are 12 schedules in the Indian Constitution after the various amendments.

The main objective of these schedules is to sort out any uncertainty in any articles of the Indian Constitution.

Schedule of the Indian Constitution

According to the National Portal of India, the Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949, and came into force on 26th January, 1950. Originally, there were 8 Schedules in the Indian Constitution, but later on, with various amendments, currently, there are 12 Schedules in the Indian Constitution. 

Criteria of the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution

The Dhebar Commission of 1960-61 set the criteria for declaring any areas under the “Schedule Area” in the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

• The majority of the tribal population must not be less than 50 percent.

• There must be compactness & a reasonable size of areas.

• Underdeveloped areas are considered.

• There must be disparity in the economic standard compared to other neighbouring areas.

Later on, other administrative entity, such as a district, block, or taluka is also identified in declaring the areas under “Schedule Area”.

As per the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, these areas are not mentioned in the Constitution of India, but they have become well established.

Constitutional Provision of the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution

The 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with the management & administration of Scheduled Areas & Schedule Tribes. The constitutional provisions under the 5th Schedule are:

• Article 244(1): 

• This provision of the 5th Schedule shall apply to the administration and control of the Scheduled Areas and Schedule Tribes in all the states of India, except the four states, which are Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

• Declaration of Scheduled Areas: 

• The President of India is empowered to declare an area as a Scheduled Area. He also has the power to cease any part of the Scheduled Areas.

• The President can increase or decrease the areas of Schedule Area in a state after consultation with the Governor of that state.

• Executive Power of State:

• The executive power of a state extends to the Schedule Areas, and the Governor of each state has the power to make reports on Schedule Areas and submit to the President of India regarding the administration of the Schedule Areas in the state.

• Panchayat (Extension to Schedule Areas) Act, 1996:

• The Fifth Schedule Areas are exempted from the Panchayat-related requirement of Part IX of the Constitution.

• The Panchayat (Extension to Schedule Areas) Act, 1996 was passed by the Parliament of India to extend the provisions of Part IX to the Fifth Schedule areas with certain modifications.

State-wise details of notified 5th Schedule Areas

The 5th Schedule provides for the administration of the tribal areas in ten states in India, which are:

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Chhattisgarh

3. Gujarat

4. Himachal Pradesh

5. Jharkhand

6. Madhya Pradesh

7. Maharashtra

8. Odhisha

9. Rajasthan

10. Telangana

So, the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution is crucial for the social, economic, and political development of the Scheduled Tribes in India, which deals with the provisions related to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Schedule Tribes.