[Answered] In the light of the present challenges to federalism in India, highlight the recommendation of Punchhi Commission’s report on Centre-state relations.

The Government of India constituted a Commission on Centre-State Relations under the chairmanship of Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, former Chief Justice of India on 27th April 2007 to look into the new issues of Centre-State relations.

Present challenges to federalism in India:

• The Inter-State Council has met only once in the last seven years, while the National Development Council has not met at all.
• The constitutional office of the Governor has come under scrutiny several times for encroaching on the powers of state executive and legislature.
• Many important and politically sensitive decisions are taken without reference to, and consultation with, the concerned states. For instance, Article 370 was removed without consulting the state legislature.
• The GST has already taken away much of the autonomy available to states and has made the country’s indirect tax regime unitary in nature.
• The tenure of the 15th Finance Commission was mired in controversy, and many states expressed apprehensions about devolution.
• The State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs) have suffered from a lack of specificity in design and inadequate financial support from the Centre, and rank low among governance priorities in state capitals.

Recommendations of Punchhi Commission’s report on Centre-state relations:

• Governor: The appointment of the Governor must be done by a panel which among others also has the State Chief Minister. There should be provisions for the impeachment of the Governor by the state legislature along the same lines as that of the President by Parliament.
• Inter-State Council (ISC): The council must meet at least thrice a year on an agenda evolved after proper consultation with states. The Centre should consult states before introducing bills on items in the concurrent list through the inter-state council.
• The States should be involved in the Finance Commissions’ work to come up with the final terms of the contract.
• The Finance Commission and the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) should work much closer together. This cooperation will be greatly enhanced by synchronising the Finance Commission’s and the five-year plan’s time frames.
• The National Water Resources Council needs to play a greater role in integrating policy and programmes on a continuous basis.

There is a need to go beyond the concept of cooperative federalism and create a new federal architecture for collaborative engagement of the appropriate levels and actors in the policy-making and implementation process.