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The Centre-State Relation Notes with PDF

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Centre-State Relations in India: A Structured Overview

1. Constitutional Basis & Distribution of Power

  • Governing Provisions: Primarily outlined in Part XI (Legislative & Administrative Relations) and Part XII (Financial Relations) of the Constitution.
  • Legislative Power Distribution:
    • Articles 245 & 246: Define the distribution of legislative power.
    • The Seventh Schedule (Article 246): Contains three lists:
      • Union List: Parliament has exclusive power.
      • State List: State Legislatures have exclusive power.
      • Concurrent List: Both can make laws (Central law prevails in case of conflict).
    • Residuary Powers: Rest with the Parliament.
    • Parliament’s Power over State List: Under Article 249, Parliament can legislate on a State List subject if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution (valid for one year) in the national interest.

2. Financial Relations

  • Governing Articles: Articles 268 to 281.
  • Tax Collection and Distribution:
    • Article 270: Taxes levied and collected by the Centre (except agricultural income) are distributed between the Centre and States.
    • Article 268: Taxes on financial transactions (stamp duties) are imposed by the Centre but collected and appropriated by the States.
  • Key Institution: The Finance Commission is the constitutional body that defines financial relations.
  • Specific Tax Examples:
    • Land Revenue: Exclusively imposed and collected by States (Entry 45, State List).
    • Taxes on Income: Imposed by the Union, but proceeds are shared (Article 270).
    • Agriculture Income Tax: Assigned to State Governments by the Constitution (State List, Entry 46).
    • Constitutional Sanction: Article 265 states no tax shall be levied without the authority of law.
  • Limitation on State Borrowing:
    • As per Article 293, a state can only borrow within India and is NOT empowered to take foreign loans directly.

3. Mechanisms for Cooperation & Coordination

  • Constitutional Bodies:
    • Inter-State Council (Article 263):
      • Purpose: To facilitate coordination between Centre-States and among States.
      • Power: President establishes the Council.
      • Recommendation: Proposed by the Sarkaria Commission.
      • Establishment: Set up in 1990.
      • Composition: Chaired by the Prime Minister, includes Chief Ministers and Union Ministers.
  • Statutory Bodies:
    • Zonal Councils:
      • Basis: Created by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (statutory, not constitutional).
      • Number: Initially five (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, Southern).
      • Role: Advisory bodies; act as ‘Sub-Federal Links’.
      • Composition: Chaired by the Union Home Minister.
      • Inclusions: Union Territories (e.g., Chandigarh) are members.
    • North Eastern Council: A separate council for the seven NE states, established in 1971.
  • Extra-Constitutional Bodies:
    • National Development Council (NDC)
    • Governor’s Conference
  • Other Unifying Mechanisms:
    • Unitary Judicial System (Supreme Court at apex)
    • All India Services

4. Specific Provisions for Interstate Relations

  • Inter-State Water Disputes:
    • Constitutional Basis: Article 262 empowers Parliament to adjudicate.
    • Related Legislation: Inter-State Water Dispute Act (1956) and the River Boards Act (1956).

5. Union’s Duty towards States

  • Article 355: It is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the state government functions in accordance with the Constitution.

6. Commissions on Centre-State Relations

  • Sarkaria Commission:
    • Purpose: To review Centre-State relations.
    • Year: Set up in 1983.
    • Chairman: Justice R.S. Sarkaria.
    • Members: Included B. Sivaraman and Dr. S.R. Sen.
    • Report: Submitted in January 1988.
    • Key Recommendations:
      • Use Article 356 (President’s Rule) very sparingly.
      • Establish a Permanent Inter-State Council.
  • Other Committees:
    • Related: Sarkaria Commission, Rajamannar Committee, Punchhi Commission.
    • Not Related: The Indrajit Gupta Committee (related to state funding of elections).

7. Specific Instance

  • Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council: Formed on August 8, 1995, covering 18 districts, prior to the full formation of the state of Jharkhand.

8. Factors Influencing Centre-State Relations

The dynamics are influenced by a combination of:

  • Constitutional Provisions
  • Conventions and Practices
  • Judicial Interpretations
  • Mechanisms for Dialogue
  • Other factors include:
      • The Planning Process (sometimes termed a ‘Municipal Relation’).
      • Conflicts of Political Interests (e.g., different parties at Centre and State).
      • The desire of the Centre to dictate.

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