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What is Inter-State Council on Center - State Relations

  • As the article 263 makes it clear, the Inter-State Council is not a permanent constitutional body for coordination between the States of the Union. It can be established 'at any time' if it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of such a Council.
  • If at any time it appears to the President that the public interest would be served by the establishment of a Council with the duty of -
  • a) inquiring into and advising upon disputes between States;
  • 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
  • c) making recommendations for the better co-ordination of policy and action. Then President can order to establish such a Council.

Recommendation of ARC-1 (The Administrative Reforms Commission)

  • The first ARC was constituted by the GoI on January 1966.
  • For reviewing the public administration system of India and recommending measures for making administration fit for carrying out the social and economic policies of the government.
  • The Commission was Chaired initially by Morarji R Desai, MP.
With regard to Inter-State Council the Commission made the following recommendations: 
  1. Establishment of an Inter-State Council under Article 263 of the Constitution which would discuss all issues of national importance in which the States are interested.
  2. Saddling the Council with functions under article 263 to inquire into and advise upon disputes between the States would prevent it from giving full attention to the various problems of national concern which it ought to consider.
  3. This body should replace the National Development Council, the Chief Minister' Conference, the Finance Minister' Conference, the Food Ministers' Conference and the National Integration Council. 
  4. The Council will be wide-embracing and will provide a standing machinery for effecting consultations between the centre and the states. Only issues of real and national importance need be taken up there. Others should be settled by conferences convened by the ministries concerned, at a lower, preferably official level.
  5. The Council should have an appropriate secretariat. The Secretary of the Council should be an officer having the knowledge, experience and status that will enable him to work effectively.

Duties Of Inter State Council

  • The Council is a recommendatory body with the following duties: -
  • a) Investigating and discussing such subjects, in which some or all of the States or the Union and one or more of the States have a common interest, as may be brought up before it;
  • b) Making recommendations upon any such subject and in particular recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action with respect to that subject; and
  • c) Deliberating upon such other matters of general interest to the States as may be referred by the Chairman to the Council.
  • This view was endorsed by the Commission on Centre-State Relations (1988) which recommended that 'the Council should be charged with duties in broad terms embracing the entire gamut of clauses (b) and (c) of article 263'.
  • Government accepted the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission and notified the establishment of the Inter-State Council 0n 28 May 1990.

The Council Composition

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

Meetings Of Inter state Council

  • The Inter-State Council has met for only ten times. The meetings of the Council are held in camera and therefore the details of the agenda items and the proceedings of the meetings cannot be shared in the public domain.
  • The First Meeting of the Inter-State Council was held on 10.1990. to discuss the mainly agenda items on report of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations.
  • The Tenth Meeting of the Inter-State Council held on 9.12.2006 discussed the agenda items on Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and status of implementation of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
  • In all the meetings recommendations made by Sarkaria Commission on center-state relations are accepted widely.

What is Sarkaria Commission (Justice R.S. Sarkaria)

  • to reviewing the working of the existing arrangements between the Union and States in regard to powers, functions and responsibilities in all spheres and give recommendations.
  • The Commission after conducting several studies, eliciting information, holding discussions and after detailed deliberations submitted its 1600-page report in 1988 and made following recommendations with regard to Inter-State Council:
  • a) The Council should be charged with duties as explained above. The Council should not be vested with powers of enquiring into and advising upon disputes between the States;
  • b) It is very difficult for Council to work without an independent permanent secretariat; 
  • c) The separate identity of the National Development Council should be maintained. However, its status should be formalized and duties reaffirmed through a Presidential Order passed under Article 263 and it be renamed as National Economic and Development Council (NEDC).
Also there are following mechanism set-up for Inter state Coordination (outside of Article 263):

1. Planning Commission of India
2. National Development Council
3. National Integration Council
4. Central Advisory Board of Education
5. Central Council for Research in Ayurveda & Siddha
6. Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy
7. Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy
8. Labour Conference