Important Articles related to Inter - State relations

Following article deals with inter state relation-

Article 261-

• Public acts, records and judicial proceedings.

Article 262 -

• Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys.

Article 263 -

• Provisions with respect to an inter State Council.

Articles 301 to 307 -

• The freedom of trade, commerce, and intercourse.

Article 261-Public acts, records and judicial proceedings-

(1) Full faith and credit shall be given throughout the territory of India to public acts, records and judicial proceedings of the Union and of every State.

(2) The manner in which and the conditions under which the acts, records and proceedings referred to in clause (1) shall be proved and the effect thereof determined shall be as provided by law made by Parliament.

(3) Final judgements or orders delivered or passed by civil courts in any part of the territory of India shall be capable of execution anywhere within that territory according to law

Article 262 -

• Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter State rivers or river valleys

Under This article-

(1) Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter State river or river valley.

(2) Parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.

Under this provision, the Parliament has enacted two laws -

1.The River Boards Act (1956) -

• The Central Government may, on a request received in this behalf from a State Government or otherwise, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a River Board for advising the Governments interested in relation to such matters concerning the regulation or development of an inter-State river or river valley or any specified part thereof and for performing such other functions as may be specified in the notification, and different Boards may be established for different inter-State rivers or river valleys

Composition of Board-

• The Board shall consist of a Chairman and such other members as the Central Government thinks fit to appoint.

Qualification-

• A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a member unless, in the opinion of the Central Government, he has special knowledge and experience in irrigation, electrical engineering flood control, navigation, water conservation, soil conservation administration or finance.

2.The Inter State Water Disputes Act (1956)-

• The Inter-State Water Disputes Act empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley.

Composition-

• The Tribunal shall consist of a Chairman and two other members nominated in this behalf by the Chief Justice of India from among persons who at the time of such nomination are Judges of the Supreme Court or of a High Court.

• The Central Government may, in consultation with the Tribunal, appoint two or more persons as assessors to advise the Tribual in the proceedings before it.

Powers and Functions-

• The Tribunal shall investigate the matters referred to it and forward to the Central Government a report setting out the facts as found by it and giving its decision on the mattes referred to it within a period of three years and can be extended by 2 years.

• If, upon consideration of the decision of the Tribunal, the Central Government or any State Government is of opinion that anything therein contained requires explanation or that guidance is needed upon any point not originally referred to the Tribunal, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, within three months from the date of the decision, again refer the matter to the Tribunal for further consideration, and on such reference, the Tribunal may forward to the Central Government a further report within one year from the date of such reference.

Power to make schemes to implement decision of Tribunal-

• The central Government may, be notification in the Official Gazette, frame a scheme or schemes whereby provision may be made for all matters necessary to give effect to the decision of a Tribunal.

Important inter-state water dispute tribunals-

Article 263 - Provisions with respect to an inter State Council-

If any 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, in 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

Under the Article 263, the president has established the following councils-

• Central Council of Health.

• Central Council of Local Government and Urban Development.

• Four Regional Councils for Sales Tax for the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Zones.

• The Central Council of Indian Medicine and the Central Council of Homoeo pathy were set up under the Acts of Parliament

Inter-State council-

• The Inter-State council was established as a permanent body on 28 May 1990 under article 263 by a presidential order on recommendation of Sarkaria Commission during the time of Janta government headed by V.P. singh

Aims-

• Decentralization of powers to the states as much as possible.

• More transfer of financial resources to the states.

• Arrangements for devolution in such a way that the states can fulfil their obligations.

• Advancement of loans to states should be related to as ‘the productive principle’.

• Deployment of Central Armed Police Forces in the states either on their request or otherwise.

Composition-

(i) Prime minister as the Chairman

(ii) Chief ministers of all the states

(iii) Chief ministers of union territories having legislative assemblies

(iv) Administrators of union territories not having legislative assemblies

(v) Governors of States under President‘s rule

(vi) Six Central cabinet ministers, including the home minister, to be nominated by the Prime Minister. 

Permanent Invitees-

• Five Ministers of Cabinet rank .

• Minister of State (independent charge) nominated by the Chairman of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) are permanent invitees to the Council.

Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council-

• It was constituted in 1996

Composition-

• The Standing Committee comprises of Union Home Minister as Chairman.

• 5 Union Ministers of Cabinet Rank and 9 Chief Ministers of States as Members nominated by the Chairman of the Inter-State Council.

Inter-State Council Secretariat-

• It was set up in 1991.

• It is headed by a secretary to the Government of India.

• Since 2011, it is also functioning as the secretariat of the Zonal Councils.

Articles 301 to 307 - The freedom of trade, commerce, and intercourse

Some of the important articles are discussed as below -

Article 301 -

• Trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free.

Article 302 -

• Parliament may by law impose such restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse between one State and another or within any part of the territory of India as may be required in the public interest.

Article 303 -

• Neither Parliament nor the Legislature of a State shall have power to make any law giving, or authorizing the giving of, any preference to one State over another, or making, or authorising the making of, any discrimination between one State and another, by virtue of any entry relating to trade and commerce in any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule.

Exception-Parliament can give preference or any discrimination stated above in case where there is scarcity of food in any part of territory of India

Article 304  Legislature of a State may by law

(a) impose on goods imported from other States or the Union territories any tax to which similar goods manufactured or produced in that State are subject, so, however, as not to discriminate between goods so imported and goods so manufactured or produced; and

(b) impose such reasonable restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse with or within that State as may be required in the public interest: Provided that no Bill or amendment for the purposes of clause shall be introduced or moved in the Legislature of a State without the previous sanction of the President

Zonal Council-

• Zonal councils are created under State Reorganization act of 1956 as a statutory body

Division of Zonal councils-

1.The Northern Zonal Council-

• Comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh.

2.The Central Zonal Council

• Comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

3.The Eastern Zonal Council

• Comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal.

4.The Western Zonal Council-

• Comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

5.The Southern Zonal Council-

• Comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Note -

The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils

There is separate council for North East Known as The North Eastern Council

The North Eastern Council

• It was set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.

• The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23rd December 2002.

• Consequently, action for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council has been initiated by Ministry of Home Affairs.

• It means Sikkim was removed from Eastern Zonal council after adding it to North east Zonal council.

Composition of Zonal council-

Chairman -

• The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.

Vice Chairman -

• The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.

Members-

• Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.

Advisers-

• One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/ Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone.

Note -

• Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.

Committees of Zonal council-

Each Zonal Council has set up a Standing Committee

Composition -

• It consists of Chief Secretaries of the member States of their respective Zonal Councils.

Function -

• These Standing Committees meet from time to time to resolve the issues or to do necessary ground work for further meetings of the Zonal Councils.

Objectives of Zonal council-

The main objectives of setting up of Zonal Councils are as under :

• Bringing out national integration.

• Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies.

• Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences.

• Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

Functions of Zonal council-

In particular, a Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to-

• Any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning.

• Any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport.

• Any matter connected with or arising out of, the re-organization of the States under the States Reorganisation Act.