RAS question
Under the Fifth Schedule, who declares an area to be a Scheduled Area?
Correct answer: (D) The President.
Under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, Scheduled Areas are declared by the President by order.
Explanation
Paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule defines Scheduled Areas as the areas that the President may declare by order. This is why the power is not with Parliament, the Governor or the Supreme Court. The same paragraph also shows that the President's role is not limited to the first declaration: the President may later order that all or part of a Scheduled Area cease to have that status, increase the area after consulting the Governor of the State, alter boundaries, rescind a previous order, or make fresh orders redefining Scheduled Areas. The Governor appears in this framework, but as a reporting and consulted authority, not as the declaring authority.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Parliament is not the declaring authority under Paragraph 6; the paragraph says Scheduled Areas are those the President may declare by order.
- (B) The Governor has reporting duties and may be consulted for increasing a Scheduled Area, but Paragraph 6 gives the declaration power to the President.
- (C) The Supreme Court is not assigned any role in declaring Scheduled Areas in Paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule.
Concept
This tests the Fifth Schedule mechanism under Article 244(1): identifying the constitutional authority for declaring Scheduled Areas. It recurs in RAS-style governance questions because the options often confuse the President's order-making role with the Governor's administrative and reporting role.