Two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam tribal culture

A two-day ‘PESA Mahotsav: Utsav Lok Sanskriti Ka’ will be held in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday and Wednesday (December 23 and 24, 2025) to mark the enactment of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA). PESA Day is observed on December 24 to mark the anniversary of the Act.

The event being organised by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, K Pawan Kalyan. The Union Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Vivek Bharadwaj, along with other senior officials of the Centre and the State, will also attend the event. The celebration is expected to witness the participation of nearly 2,000 representatives from all 10 PESA States, including panchayat representatives, sportspersons, cultural artists and others. The PESA Mahotsav is envisaged as a national platform to celebrate the cultural and traditional heritage of tribal communities from PESA areas.

According to an official statement, several important national initiatives on PESA will be launched on December 24, including the PESA Portal for dissemination of information and monitoring of PESA implementation, PESA Indicators to assess the status of implementation across States, Training Modules on PESA in Tribal Languages to strengthen awareness and grassroots capacity-building and an E-book on Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, documenting the region’s traditional knowledge, culture and heritage.

As part of the celebration, special Gram Sabhas will be held in PESA Gram Panchayats of Andhra Pradesh with the participation of elected representatives from the participating States on 10 identified PESA themes. In addition, special Gram Sabhas will also be organised across all 10 PESA States on December 24, focusing on strengthening community participation, protection of natural resources and preservation of customary practices, livelihoods and social justice.

The programme will witness a range of sports and cultural activities, showcasing the diversity and vibrancy of India’s tribal heritage. The main venue for the Mahotsav will be Visakhapatnam Port Authority Campus, with activities spread across Ramakrishna Beach, Indoor Stadium, Cricket Stadium and the Kalavani Auditorium, all in Visakhapatnam city.

In terms of Article 243M(4)(b) of the Constitution of India, Parliament enacted “The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996” (called as PESA Act), to extend the provisions of Part-IX of the Constitution, with certain exceptions and modification, to the Scheduled Areas.

Scheduled Areas are those areas which are declared by the President of India. Article 244(1) and the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deal with provisions relating to the Scheduled Areas. Since those Scheduled Areas are mentioned under Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, therefore, they are called as Fifth Schedule Areas. Currently, Fifth Schedule Areas have been declared in 10 States—Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.