Interstate council

Published on 07 Jan 2025

Interstate council

The Interstate council was established under article 263 of the constitution through a Presidential Order in 1990 following the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission. The body which sought to promote dialogues between centre and state and among states has been a hallmark feature of India’s cooperative federalism.

Powers of the council under Article 263

• Inquire and advise upon the issues that arise between the states.

• Investigate and discuss the subjects on which states and unions have a common interest.

• Can make recommendations upon the subjects, and recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action.

However, the body has failed to perform these functions effectively due to lack of political will from central as well as the state governments. The excessive centralizing tendency of the central government has hindered them from progressing the council while an increased sense of regionalism has affected state cooperation. Since its inception the body has only met 11 times with the last meeting happening in 2016, showing the ignored and underutilized state of the constitutional body.

Need to revive Interstate council

• Promote cooperative federalism: Frequent dialogues between central and state governments ensure coordinated actions and foster a collaborative approach to governance.

• Address disputes: Many interstate and regional disputes can be resolved through proper dialogues which could be facilitated by the council. The presence of the union government makes them a neutral mediator in such talks.

• Resource allocation: As resources are scarce and their distribution is non-uniform, cooperation between states could be crucial for effective use of these resources.

• Sharing best practices: The successful policies of one state could offer lessons for the reminder of the group, thus enhancing the scope of national growth.

• Implementation of national policies: Certain programmes and schemes are implemented at the national level and a coordinated effort from all governments will make them more effective.

• Disaster management: During disasters Interstate councils facilitate coordinated relief and rescue efforts, thus creating efficient response to such crises.

How to revive interstate council

• Defining conditions for having a meeting: Enlisting certain subjects which are of importance to both central and state government, with decisions on these subjects to be made only after a discussion in the interstate council.

• Time table for meeting: Setting a minimum number of times the body should meet annually to bring more uniformity to the meeting.

• Shifting the interstate council secretariat to Rajya Sabha: To reduce political influence and to project the body as a symbol of cooperative federalism.

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Interstate council Article 263 Features of federalism

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2

Topics:
Indian Constitution