RECOMMENDATIONS OF SARKARIA COMMISSION

1. SARKARIA COMMISSION
REPORT(1983)
ESTABLISHMENT OF INTER STATE COUNCIL
APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNORS ……………… SUBMITTED BY,
ATHIRA KRISHNAN

2. INTRODUCTION
 THE UNION GOVT. IN 1983 APPOINTED A COMMISSION UNDER THE
CHAIRMANSHIP OF JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH SARKARIA TO REVIEW THE
RELATIONS BETWEEN STATE AND CENTRAL
 THE COMMISSION SUBMITTED 1600 PAGE FINAL REPORT ON 27th OCT 1987
BEFORE THEN PRIME MINISTER RAJIV GANDHI
 THE REPORT WAS A CHARTER TO EXAMINE THE BALANCE OF POWER
BETWEEN CENTRAL AND STATE RELATIONS
 SUGGESTED CHANGES REGARDING THIS ISSUE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF
INDIA

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT
 247 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
 INCLUDED CENTRAL STATE RELATIONS, RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
AND APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNORS AND FINALLY USE OF ART.356 OF THE
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
 IT WAS WIDELY ACCEPTED BUT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE NOT
IMPLEMENTED BY THE GOVT
 “CONSENSUS AND CORPORATION BETWEEN STATES AND CENTRAL”
 ULTIMATE AIM UNITY AND INTEGRITY OF OUR COUNTRY
 WELFARE OF CITIZENS – HARMONIOUS RELATION AMONG BOTH UNION
AND STATE

4. REASONS FOR THE COMMISSION
REPORT
 SUPREMACY OF UNION LEGISLATIVE POWER
 ART 254(1) REPUGNACY OF STATE MADE LAWS –VOID BY CENTRAL –THE
CONFLICT AND OVERLAPING IN SEVENTH SCHEDULES
 ENTRUSTEMENT OF UNION FUNCTIONS TO STATE AND VICEVERSA
 ART 258(1) IMPOSES POWERS AND DUTIES TO STATE GOVT ITS OFFICES AND
AUTHORITIES- TO WHICH STATE HAS NEITHER HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE ANY
LEGISLATION OVER IT NOR ITS CONSENT IS AN IMPORTANT CONDITION
PRECEDENT
 CONTROL OF UNION EXECUTIVE OVER STATE LEGISLATION
 ART.200,201 RECONSIDERATION OF PRESIDENT AND GOVERNORS IN THE BILLS
PASSED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE
 EMERGENCY PROVISIONS ART 352-359- CONSENT OF STATE GOVT. NOT
NECESSARY
 INDEPENDENCY OF STATES – IMPOSITION OF TAXES

5. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
SARKARIA COMMISSION REPORT
 “(a) A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council
(IGC) should be set up under Article 263.
 (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.”
(para 9.10.01 of the Report)

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
 ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT INTER STATE COUNCIL AS A NATIONAL
INDEPENDENT FORUM IN ACCORDANCE WITH ART.263
 COORDINATION OF POLICIES OF LARGE COMMON INTEREST CONSULTATION
AND INTERACTION IS NECESSARY
 DIVISION OF MATTERS IN STATE AND CENTRAL LIST IS NOT ABSOLUTE IT
OVERLAPS IN MANY AREAS
 SETTING UP A COUNCIL UNDER ART.263 FOR THE SMOOTH INDEPENDENCY OF
STATES
 FORMATION OF INTER GOVT.MENTAL COUNCIL CONSISTING OF P.M AND C.Ms
OF VARIOUS STATES TO DISCUSS VARIOUS ASPECTS OF GOVERNANCE IN DISPUTE
BETWEEN THEM RESPECTIVELY
 SUGGESTED ACTIVE POLITICIANS, MEMBER OF RULING PARTY AT THE CENTRE
SUCH PERSONS SHALL NOT BE APPOINTED AS GOVERNORS
 GOVERNORS ARE DEBARRED FROM ACCEPTING OFFICE OF PROFITS

7. RECOMMENDATIONS……..
 JUDGES OF HIGH COURT SHOULD NOT BE TRANSFERRED WITHOUT THEIR
CONSENT
 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE THREE LANGUAGE FORMULA i.e.,(Regional language,
Hindi ,English recommendation of Education Commission in 1965-66) FOR
MAINTAINING TRUE SPIRIT OF EACH STATES AND NATIONAL INTEGRITY
 THE WORKS OF UNION AND STATE GOVT. WHICH DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE LOCAL
PEOPLE MUST BE IN LOCAL LANGUAGE
 CENTRAL CONTROL OVER RADIO AND TELEVISION SHOULD BE CHANNALISED
TO EACH CENTRES AT STATE
 FAVOURED FOR AMENMENTS IN SHARING CORPORATION AND CONSIGNMENT
TAX ONLY
 INSISTED THAT INTER STATE COUNCIL STRICTLY MENTIONED FOR THE PURPOSE
MENTIONED IN ART.263 OF THE CONSTITUTION

8. RECOMMENDATIONS……..
 SETTING UP EXPERT BODIES AT STATE LEVEL IN TERMS OF REFERENCE TO
FINANCE COMMISSION
 RETENTION OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL(aim is to promote
common economic policy and ensure balanced development all over the country
CONSTITUTED IN 1967 ON OCT.7th )
 DISPERSING OF ALL INDIA SERVICES AND CONSTITUTE A NEW ONE FOR THE
INTEREST NATIONAL INTEGRITY

9. DRAWBACKS AND ANALYSIS OF
SARKARIA COMMISSION REPORT
 REPORT DID NOT SUGGEST DRASTIC CHANGES TO THE EXISTING SCHEMES
 HOWEVER FAVOURED SEVERAL CHANGES TO BRING A SMOOTH RELATION
BETWEEN STATE AND UNION
 NEITHER THE CONGRESS GOVT. THEN HEADED BY THE RAJIV GANDHI NOR
THE NATIONAL FRONT GOVT UNDER V.P SINGH ACCEPTED THE
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT
 THE UNITED GOVT. UNDER P.V NARASIMHA RAO DECIDED TO IMPLEMENT
SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS OF THE REPORT IN 1996
 ACTIVATED INTER STATE COUNCIL AFTER THE GAP OF 6 YEARS –SETUP A
PANEL TO EXAMINE THE IN DEPTH ISSUES AND DISPUTES BETWEEN THE
STATES AND UNION RELATIONS

10. INTER STATE COUNCIL:- composition
 THE COUNCIL CONSISTS OF :-
 THE PRIME MINISTER –CHAIRMAN
 CHIEF MINISTERS OF ALL STATES – AS MEMBERS
 CHIEF MINISTERS OF UNION TERRITORIES
 SIX MINISTERS OF CABINET RANK IN THE UNION COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO
BE NOMINATED BY THE PRIME MINISTER- MEMBERS

11. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
RELATED ……….
 ART 263 PROVISIONS RELATED TO 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 –
 (a) inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen 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 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.”

12. INTER STATE COUNCIL
 IN JAN 1999 THE INTER STATE COUNCIL DECIDED TO IMPLEMENT 124
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT
 IN 2001 INTER STATE COUNCIL DECIDED GOVERNOR AFTER DEMITTING HIS
OFFICE SHALL NOT ACTIVELY RETURN TO POLITICS AND BANNED SUCH
ACTIVITY –HE CAN BE APPOINTED AS PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESIDENT
 INTER STATE COUNCIL COVERED 59 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT
WHICH EMPHASISED ABOUT ROLE OF GOVERNORS, LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS,
INTER GOVTMENTAL COUNCIL ,MINES AND MINERALS ,ALL INDIA SERVICES
,MASS MEDIA AND LANGUAGES

13. INTER STATE COUNCIL………….
 THE ISSUE OF CENTRE –STATE RELATIONS AGAIN CAME UP FOR
CONSIDERATION BEFORE THE INTER-STATE COUNCIL AT ITS EIGHTH
MEETING HELD AT SRI NAGAR IN 28TH AUGUST 2003
 THE COUNCIL INSISTED ON INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN SAFEGUARDS IN
THE CONSTITUTION SO THAT PRESIDENT’S RULE COULD NOT BE IMPOSED IN
THE STATE UNDER ART.326 IT INSISTED THATA ART.356 SHOULD BE USED
ONLY AS A LAST RESORT

14. INTER STATE COUNCIL-
PRESENT STATUS……..
 "The Inter-State Council is certainly the most significant platform for
strengthening Centre-State and Inter-State relations “-NARENDRA MODI
 The meetings of Inter-State Council and Zonal Councils are efforts to enable
Centre and States to actively participate on development related policies.“-
RAJNATH SINGH MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS
 ELEVENTH MEETING OF INTER STATE COUNCIL CONDUCTED ON - 16TH JULY
2016, AT RASHTRAPATHI BHAWAN ,NEW DELHI

15. AGENDA OF ELEVENTH MEETING OF
INTER STATE COUNCIL………..
 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, incentivizing better performance, etc.
 Internal Security with focus on intelligence sharing and coordination for
combating terrorism / insurgency , police reforms and police modernization

16. CONCLUSION
 TO IMPROVE THE CENTRAL STATE RELATIONS ON THE BASIS OF
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT
 EFFECTIVE WORKING OF INTER STATE COUNCIL- MUST NOT BE MERE
ADVISORY CHARACTER-BUT SHOULD BE EVOLVED AS A CONVENTION TO
ACEPT ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS
 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT FOR THE UNITY AND INTEGIRTY OF
THE NATION
 DEVELOPING A SMOOTH RELATION BETWEEN CENTRAL AND
STATE…………………………………..