This chapter takes into account the condition of the people in the context of rights and entitlements ceded to the state as the state strives to assert itself on commanding extractive and centralized mobilization of resources. It also examines how it paves the way for a long-term and terminal decay of the people control over their resources in the context of the Schedule V areas. The chapter, therefore, argues that the policy status is the result of the uncertainty regarding the larger framework of governance of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) in the Schedule V areas that has been adopted as well as a steady decline of the engagement of the state with the ‘Adivasi’ and the terrain they occupy. It discusses the context in which we need to recognize the dynamics of deficit and terrains first before the discussion moves into the context of PESA and its understanding. The last part of the chapter addresses the nature and the consequences of the governance deficit and the resultant implications. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Bijayalaxmi Nanda and Nupur Ray.