Cooperative federalism refers to a concept where various states cooperate with each other and with the centre to achieve the goals of growth, and development of the states and the nation. Granville Austin mentioned Indian federalism as “cooperative federalism”.
They cooperate in working out details concerning which level of government takes responsibility for particular areas and creating policy in that area. The concept of cooperative federalism put forward the view that the national and state governments are partners in exercising governmental authority.
Various hurdles to cooperative federalism in India:
- Over-centralisation: As widely recognised, India is quasi-federal, with powers and resources being highly tilted in favour of the Union. The Union list has more items than the state list which enables more taxation power to the centre. This acts as a major roadblock to cooperative federalism in India. The excessive central character reduces the active participation of states.
- Ineffective inter-state council: The Constitution provided for institutions like inter-state councils to serve as a platform for consultation between the centre and the states. The inter-state council has just turned out as a platform of talks with less progress on real issues. Inter-state council has met twice in 50 years, and has not been taken seriously as a vehicle of cooperative federalism
- Presidential rule: The constitution has given the President power to take over state machinery in situations of state failure and emergency. Unfortunately, it has been misused by political parties to subvert state governments. Between 1947 and 1977, there were 44 instances when the power to impose President’s rule was exercised. In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994), the limitation laid down by the Supreme Court placed gentle breaks on the exercise of this power, but it had limited effect.
- Taxation: Taxation powers are another contentious issue between state and the Central government. For example, in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scenario, States have power to levy tax on sale of petrol, diesel, etc. and these would be revenues of the respective States. However, the GST Council is yet to recommend the inclusion of these items under GST.
- Under-represented in finance commission: States are under-represented. Recommendations of the Finance Commission are placed before Parliament and States have no role in the debate. There is no provision for an aggrieved State to challenge the FC report or seek its enforcement.
- Trust deficit: The trust deficit between the Centre and States is widening. Several issues such as shrinkage of divisible pools plague Centre-State relations. Together, they make total cooperation difficult. Most state governments believe the thrust on federalism is limited to lofty ideas and big talks. Many States have shown their displeasure with the way the Centre has been dealing with the States. Recently, Kerala has used Article 131 to move against centre due to displeasure over Citizenship amendment act.
- One size fits all approach: A ‘One Size Fits All’ approach had been used for years, not taking into account the heterogeneity of different states and their local requirements. Due to this many states continue to suffer. Earlier planning commission and now Niti Aayog both have followed the same policy. This leads to difficulty in Policy implementation and working together.
Cooperative Federalism in India: Articles of the Constitution
1. All India Service: All India Services caters for a unified judicial system to establish the Centre and state laws. Article 312 of the Indian constitution manifests this provision that works on integration under cooperative federalism in India. Article 263 talks about an inter-state council to consider common interest factors between the states and the Centre.
2. Zonal Council: There are 5 zonal councils for each zone central, north, south, east and west to promote coordination. These are designed under the State Reorganization Act of 1956 while the northeast zonal council is made under a distinct act.
3. 7th Schedule: The 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution divided all the power between central, state and concurrent lists giving some residual powers to the Centre. Article 249(5) authorises the Indian parliament to amend those subjects of the state list. However, the resolution must pass an in-state council with a 2/3 majority to make a change.
4. GST: 101st Amendment Act of the Indian Constitution passed unified taxation called GST. It is a unique tax that manufacturers impose directly on the consumer which obtains a “one nation, one tax” goal.
Measures to strengthen cooperative federalism:
- Empowering states: NITI Aayog was formed to further empower and strengthen the states. NITI Aayog needs to act to provide the strategic policy vision for the government as well as deal with contingent issues. For example, the state should be empowered more for working to enable smart cities.
- Empowering states: There are several ways through which a country can achieve higher growth and promote economic activities. One of the ways is to empower states towards optimum utilization of its resources such as infrastructure, buildings, transportation and most importantly human resource.
- Fostering cooperation: All states should compete with each other regarding policies and their effective implementation. The Union government can include States in how decisions are made and enforced. The Union must develop newer conventions to foster cooperation. Aspirational district initiative has the potential to foster cooperation at the local level, enabling the states to work with the centre.
- Taxation: States must be given more power to tax and more grants should be given to them. One size fits all policy needs to be changed with a focus on the specific needs of each state.
The new challenges and issues need centres and various states to come together. Terrorism, militancy, organised crimes, the problem of internally displaced persons, and refugees issue, all require that the country as a whole comes together. Cooperative federalism alone strengthens the nation from within by enabling it to withstand adversities and challenges because of its inherent resilience and malleability. Thus efforts must be made towards cooperative federalism.
