Q. With reference to Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:
1. Only the Governor can declare an area as a Schedule Area in a State under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
2. As per the Constitution, provisions related to the Panchayats as well as Municipalities do not apply to the Fifth Scheduled Areas until Parliament makes a law regarding the same.
3. Any amendment to the Fifth Schedule requires a Constitutional amendment under Article 368 of the Constitution.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer.
Article 244 in Part X of the Constitution envisages a special system of administration for certain areas designated as scheduled areas and tribal areas.
Statement 1 is incorrect: The President of India (not Governor of the State) declares an area as scheduled area in a state under the fifth schedule for any states except in four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram which are covered under the Sixth schedule.
Statement 2 is correct: Article 243M and Article 243 ZC of the constitution of India exempted Scheduled Areas declared under fifth schedule from the scope of applicability of provisions related to the Panchayats (Part IX) and Municipalities (Part IXA) respectively. However, this Article (243M & 243 ZC) allows Parliament by law to extend Part IX and IXA to scheduled areas with certain exceptions and modifications.
Statement 3 is incorrect: Any change in provisions mentioned in the fifth schedule can be amended by Parliament by simple majority and falls outside scope of Article 368.
