INTER-STATE COUNCIL

The Inter-State Council is a non-permanent constitutional body enshrined in Article 263 of the Constitution of India.

Constitutional Provision

Article 263 of the Constitution of India provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council. The text of the Article reads as under:

“263. Provisions with respect to an inter-State Council – If at any time it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of a Council charged with the duty of –  

1. (a) inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen between States;

2. (b) investigating and discussing subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest; or

3. (c) making recommendations upon any such subject and, in particular, recommendations for the better co-ordination of policy and action with respect to that subject,

It shall be lawful for the President by order to establish such a Council, and to define the nature of the duties to be performed by it and its organization and procedure.”

The Commission on Centre-State Relations under the Chairmanship of Justice R. S. Sarkaria in its report in January 1988 recommended that:

1. “(a) A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) should be set up under Article 263.

2. (b) The IGC should be charged with the duties set out in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 263, other than socio-economic planning and development.” 

Government of India accepted the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission to set-up an Inter-State Council and notified the establishment of the Inter-State Council by Presidential Order in1990.

The Council consists of:

• • Prime Minister – Chairman
  • Chief Ministers of all States – Members
  • Chief Ministers of Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly and Administrators of UTs not having a Legislative Assembly – Members
  • Six Ministers of Cabinet rank in the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister – Members

Vision & Mission

Vision:

Develop the Inter-State Council Secretariat as a vibrant organization to support Centre-State and Inter-State coordination and cooperation in India.

Mission:

• • Create a strong institutional framework to promote and support cooperative federalism in the country.
  • Activate the Inter-State Council and Zonal Councils by organizing its regular meetings.
  • Facilitate consideration of all pending and emerging issues of Centre State and Inter-State relations by the Zonal Councils and Inter- State Council.
  • Develop a sound system of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the Inter-State Council and Zonal Councils.

Functions & Powers

• • It is a recommendatory body that examines and discusses matters in which some or all of the States, or the Union, and one or more States have a common interest in better coordinating policy and action on that subject.
  • It shall also discuss with the States any other matter of general interest which the President may refer to the Council.
  • The Constitution does not provide for the executive role of the Interstate Council. Its purpose would be a mixture of consultative, cognitive, normative and advisory functions.

The Presidential Order of 1990 has been amended twice vide Order dated 19th July 1990 and Order dated 24th December 1996 providing for Governor of a State under President’s rule to attend the meeting of the Council and nomination by the Chairman of permanent invitees from amongst the other Union Ministers, respectively.

In the second meeting of the Inter-State Council held in 1996, the Council decided to set up a Standing Committee for continuous consultation and processing of matters for consideration of the Council. Accordingly, a Standing Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of the Home Minister.

The Standing Committee has been reconstituted from time to time with the approval of the Chairman of the Council. The Standing Committee was last reconstituted vide Gazette notification dated 19th May, 2022.

The Standing Committee will:

(i)  have continuous consultation and process matters for consideration of the Council;

(ii)  process all matters pertaining to Centre-State Relations before they are taken up for consideration in the Inter-State Council;

(iii)  monitor the implementation of decisions taken on the recommendations of the Council and

(iv)  consider any other matter referred to it by the Chairman / Council.

The Standing Committee may, if necessary, invite experts and persons eminent in specific fields to have the benefit of their views while deliberating upon the related subjects.

Secretariat

The Presidential Order 1990 provided that there shall be a Secretariat comprising of such officers and staff as the Chairman may think fit to appoint. The Inter-State Council Secretariat was set up in 1991. The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary to the Government of India.

The secretarial functions of the Zonal Councils have been transferred to the Inter-State Council Secretariat with effect from 1st April, 2011. The Inter-State Council Secretariat is located in Vigyan Bhawan.

The Inter-State Council has met eleven times. The details of the eleven meetings are given below :

MEETING	YEAR	AGENDA
1st	1990	Report of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations Setting up of special courts for speedy trial of economic offences and offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act
2nd	1996	Consideration of 179 recommendations of Sarkaria Commission on which there was a consensus in the Sub-committee of the Inter-State Council
3rd	1997	Action taken on recommendations adopted at the Second meeting of the Inter-State Council held on 15.10.96. Alternative Scheme of Devolution of Share in Central Taxes to States
4th	1997	Sarkaria Commission Report on “Centre-State Financial Relations, Role of Governor, Inter-State River Water Disputes, Economic & Social Planning and  Forests.
5th	1999	Sarkaria Commission Report on ‘Emergency Provisions Implementation Report on the recommendations endorsed by the Inter-State Council
6th	2000	Sarkaria Commission Report on Administrative Relations, Reservation of Bills and  Financial Relations Implementation Report on the decisions taken by Inter-State Council on the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission
7th	2001	Sarkaria Commission Report on Legislative Relations, All India Services, etc Implementation Report on the decisions taken by Inter-State Council in its earlier meetings
8th	2003	Chapter VI of Sarkaria Commission Report on ‘Emergency Provisions’ Good Governance – An Action Plan
9th	2005	Blue Print of Action Plan on Good Governance Disaster Management – Preparedness of States to Cope With Disaster
10th	2006	Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and status of implementation of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
11th		Consideration of the Recommendations of the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations Use of Aadhaar as an identifier and use of DBT for providing Subsidies, Benefits and Public Services Improving Quality of School Education with focus on improving learning outcomes, incentivising better performance, etc Internal Security with focus on intelligence sharing and coordination for combating terrorism / insurgency , police reforms and police modernisation

Till now, the harsh reality is that the Inter-State Council has had just 12 meetings since it was set up in 1990. There was a gap of a decade between the 10th meeting in 2006 and the 11th meeting in 2016, and the council met again in November 2017.

There is obviously an institutional gap in the Indian union right now and it needs to be filled before inter-state frictions get out of control.

Way forward:

• • If the Council is to emerge as the key institution to manage inter-state frictions, it first needs to have a regular meeting schedule.
  • The council also has to have a permanent secretariat which will ensure that the periodic meetings are more fruitful.
  • The Prime Minister should be the Chairman but the Council should also have Vice-Chairman, an office which should annually rotate among the Chief Ministers according to the alphabetical order of the names of their States.

The Council cannot but have an advisory status under our system of government but a convention should also be evolved to accept its recommendations. Among the pre-requisites of its success are the confidence in it and the attitudes of giving and take from all sides.

Conclusion

In a federal system where powers are divided between two levels of governments, some differences, problems and disputes are bound to occur. Hence the relationship between the Centre and States in the federal system remains always a sensitive matter.

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