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4.5. Learned counsel further submitted that the scope of judicial review over policy decisions relating to urban planning, municipal expansion and territorial re-organisation is extremely limited. The impugned notification, having been issued in furtherance of planned urban development and administrative efficiency, does not warrant judicial interference.

4.6. It was also contended that the petitioners proceed on a misconception regarding the scope and applicability of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA). PESA operates in the domain of Panchayati Raj institutions under Part IX of the Constitution and does not create a constitutional embargo on municipal administration in Scheduled Areas. The existence of PESA cannot be construed to imply a prohibition on urban governance mechanisms, particularly in areas undergoing urbanisation, nor does it override the State's statutory powers under the Act of 2009.

(iv) Whether the inclusion of a Scheduled Area within municipal limits under the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009 results in cessation of the applicability of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), having regard to the altered territorial character of the area from "village" to "municipal area.

Issue No.1:

9. This Court observes that under Entry 5 of List II of the Seventh Schedule, the State Legislature is competent to enact laws governing municipalities, and the Act of 2009 has been enacted in exercise of such legislative competence, extending to the whole of the State of Rajasthan, excluding only cantonment areas.

Issue No.4:

14. This Court observes that Parliament, by enacting the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), operationalised the philosophy underlying the Fifth Schedule by extending Part IX to Scheduled Areas with mandatory exceptions and modifications, thereby transforming constitutional protection into a living framework of participatory self-governance. 14.1.PESA places the Gram Sabha at the normative centre of Scheduled Area governance and vests it with decisive authority over customary law, community resources, cultural identity, land relations, minor forest produce, local dispute resolution and development priorities. This institutional design represents a constitutional expression of tribal self-rule within the Indian federal structure and affirms the commitment that development in Scheduled Areas must remain community-centred and culturally anchored.

14.2.This Court further observes that the introduction of municipal governance into Scheduled Areas necessarily generates a constitutional tension between two governance paradigms: the urban municipal model under Part IX-A and the tribal self- governance model under the Fifth Schedule and PESA.

15. This Court notes that the constitutional extension of Part IX (Panchayats) to Scheduled Areas through the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) proceeds on the foundational assumption that the concerned territory continues to (Uploaded on 06/01/2026 at 04:48:57 PM) [2025:RJ-JD:54651-DB] (36 of 42) [CW-3118/2025] be administered as a "village" and "Panchayat area" within the meaning of Articles 243 and 243B of the Constitution. PESA, by its very structure, is designed to strengthen Gram Sabha-centric governance in rural tribal habitations.