Impact Analysis of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1997 on Traditional Institutions in the State; A Case Study of Two Districts of Papum Pare and East Kemang

Good governance has been one of the major objectives of law reform in recent times. Devolution of political power to grassroots has been considered as one of the attributes of good governance. India made a major step towards that direction by bringing in the Seventy Third and Seventy Fourth constitutional amendments in 1992. These amendments gave constitutional status to local self-governing institutions and made periodic elections to these institutions mandatory. Representation of socially excluded sections of the society in the form of reservations was also an important feature of these amendments. Tribal societies had their own systems of governance and these institutions had wide powers on the community including the power to adjudicate criminal disputes and to impose punishments. The Indian Constitution had recognized this parallel system of governance in the V and VI schedule to the Constitution. An attempt is made to study the impact of democratically elected and ‘representative’ Panchayati Raj institutions on the traditional tribal institutions.
Arunachal Pradesh (AP) is inhabited by 26 major tribes and numerous sub-tribes and minor tribes having unique cultural attributes. Each tribe has its own traditional system for administration of the society. As per the prevailing understanding, these institutions also support the government in implementation of policies and programs. The Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1997 introduced a new governance structure which is parallel to the traditional system. In particular, the Gram Panchayat under the Panchayati Raj Act and Village Council recognised by the Assam Frontier (Administration of Justice) Regulation 1945 seems to be institutions that are contextualised for the same purpose.
The purpose of this study is to:

Critically analyse the implementation of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1997 and its interaction with traditional customary institutions in Papum Pare and East Kemang Districts of the State.

Prescribe policy, legal and institutional interventions to the Government in order bring out the best possible solutions for a healthy interaction between Panchayati Raj Act and traditional laws and institutions aimed at harmonised existence of both the institutions.