Inter-State Council

Inter-State Council

Subject : Polity

Section: Parliament

Context:

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking that at least three meetings of the Inter-State Council should be held every year to “strengthen the spirit of cooperative federalism”.

Concept:

What is the Inter-State Council?

• It is a mechanism that was constituted “to support Centre-State and Inter-State coordination and cooperation in India”.
• The Inter-State Council was established under Article 263 of the Constitution, which states that the President may constitute such a body if a need is felt for it.
• The Council is basically meant to serve as a forum for discussions among various governments.
• In 1988, the Sarkaria Commission suggested the Council should exist as a permanent body, and in 1990 it came into existence through a Presidential Order.
• The main functions of the Council are
  • inquiring into and advising on disputes between states,
  • investigating and discussing subjects in which two states or states and the Union have a common interest, and
  • making recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action.
• The Prime Minister is the chairman of the Council, whose members include the Chief Ministers of all states and UTs with legislative assemblies, and Administrators of other UTs.
• Six Ministers of Cabinet rank in the Centre’s Council of Ministers, nominated by the Prime Minister, are also its members.
• There  is  also  a  Standing  Committee  of  the  Council.  It  was  set  up in  1996  for  continuous  consultation  and  processing  of  matters  for  the consideration of the Council.
  • It consists of the following members:
    • (i) Union Home Minister as the Chairman
    • (ii) Five Union Cabinet Ministers
    • (iii) Nine Chief Ministers
• The  Council  is  assisted  by  a  secretariat  called  the  Inter-State Council  Secretariat.  This  secretariat  was  set-up  in  1991  and  is headed  by  a  secretary  to  the  Government  of  India.  Since  2011,  it  has also functioned as the secretariat of the Zonal Councils.

Issues with Inter-State Council

• Lack of regular meetings, the Council has met only once in the last six years and that there has been no meeting since July 2016.
• Since its constitution in 1990, the body has met only 11 times, although its procedure states it should meet at least three times every year.
• The reconstitution of the council was appreciated, carried out last month. The body will now have 10 Union Ministers as permanent invitees, and the standing committee of the Council was reconstituted with Home Minister Amit Shah as Chairman.
• Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, UP, and Gujarat are some of the other standing committee members.