Which of the following statement is incorrect?

Correct option is C

The correct answer is (c) PESA Act is applied to 9 states of Schedule 5.
Explanation:
· Statement (a): Correct. The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act was indeed implemented on 24th December 1996.
· Statement (b): Correct. The PESA Act was enacted on the recommendation of the Dileep Singh Bhuria Committee, which was formed to examine the extension of provisions of the Panchayati Raj system to Scheduled Areas.
· Statement (c): Incorrect. The PESA Act is applied to 10 states in India that have areas under the Fifth Schedule. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
· Statement (d): Correct. One of the primary objectives of the PESA Act is to protect and conserve the traditions and customs of tribal communities, empowering them to self-govern in accordance with their cultural practices.
Information Booster:
· PESA Act: The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act extends the provisions of Part IX of the Indian Constitution, which deals with Panchayats, to the Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule, with certain modifications and exceptions.
· Fifth Schedule Areas: These are regions identified by the Constitution of India as predominantly inhabited by tribal communities, where the state is required to ensure special governance structures to protect the rights of these communities.
· Objective of PESA: Apart from preserving tribal customs, PESA aims to empower local self-governance and ensure that decisions affecting the tribal populations are made by their own communities in a manner consistent with their customs and traditions.