{"id":182364,"date":"2022-05-02T20:34:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T15:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=182364"},"modified":"2022-05-02T20:34:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T15:04:45","slug":"revisit-the-seventh-schedule-to-improve-centre-state-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/revisit-the-seventh-schedule-to-improve-centre-state-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"Revisit the Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-state relations\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p aria-level=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">News:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Recently, the Union government revoked the orders and guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005 after covid knocked on India\u2019s doors. The DMA has been the backbone of policy interventions to fight covid.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">What are the constitutional provisions with respect to invoking the laws?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Any legislation can be passed under an enabling <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">constitutional provision<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. Article 246 talks about the Union, state and concurrent lists which are mentioned in <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Considering, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">health<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> is a state subject mentioned in the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">state list a<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">nd <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">disasters<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> do not find mention in any lists in <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Schedule VII<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. Therefore, the union government invoked <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Disaster management Act (DMA) 2005<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> by relating to <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Entry 23 (Social Security and Social Insurance)<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. It was invoked to deal with covid-19.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">How was the DMA 2005 used by the states?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Some states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh legalized the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">home delivery<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of alcohol under the ambit of the DMA. Ironically, it was invoked for liquor delivery to promote <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">social security and social insurance<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. It was also aimed to address a shortfall in tax revenues (Taxes on alcohol account for a significant share of the total revenue in many states)\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">However, at present the DMA has been revoked. Therefore, in the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">absence<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of ena<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">bling legislation<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> (due to revocation of the DMA), the states will have to curtail the home delivery of alcohol.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">What are the issues that plague the Seventh Schedule?<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Seventh Schedule was inherited from <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Government of India Act, 1935<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. Therefore, it is a <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">relic<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">colonial past<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. The lists do not reflect the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">complex realities<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of India in its <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">75th year of independence<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. For example, despite having health as the state subject, the Union government was in a better position to legislate on some issues related to health (vaccination, for instance)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The states often shift their <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">responsibilities<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> upon centre. For example: (1) state highways are often classified as national highways, and (2) the states ask for the help of paramilitary forces in times of crisis despite having law and order as the state subjects.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">States have also advocated the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">transfer<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of some subjects from the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Union<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> and <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">concurrent lists<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> to the state list. For instance, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">entry No. 58<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of the Union list is on the manufacturing, supply and distribution of salt.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">States have also criticized the transfer of some subjects from the state list to the concurrent list. \u2018<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Way Forward<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Sarkaria Commission<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> and <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Punchi Commission<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">. Both advised comprehensive consultation between the Union and state governments before moving anything from the state list to the concurrent list.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">N.K. Singh<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, chairman of the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">15th Finance Commission<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, has time and again argued for reforms in the Seventh Schedule.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Some have even advocated further <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">decentralization<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> of that Schedule by introducing a local government list in the light of rapid urbanization across countries.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">There has to be periodic reviews of these lists\u2014say, after every 20 years.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:2,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:420}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Source<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: The post is based on an article \u201c<strong>Revisit the Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-State relations<\/strong>\u201d published in the <strong>Live Mint<\/strong> on <strong>01<\/strong><\/span><strong>st<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><strong> May 2022<\/strong>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Recently, the Union government revoked the orders and guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005 after covid knocked on India\u2019s doors. The DMA has been the backbone of policy interventions to fight covid.\u00a0\u00a0 What are the constitutional provisions with respect to invoking the laws?\u00a0 Any legislation can be passed under an enabling&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/revisit-the-seventh-schedule-to-improve-centre-state-relations\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Revisit the Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-state relations\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10501],"class_list":["post-182364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-live-mint","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":45,"cached_at":1698384510,"cached_date":1698474650},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182364\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}