Inter State Relations

About

• Under the Indian Constitution, Part XI deals with Administrative relations, and Part XIII deals with trade and commerce.
• The relationship among the states in India is cooperative, with the states working together to put in force national rules and packages and to deal with issues of not common concern.
• However, there may be tensions between the states on positive issues, including the distribution of resources, allocation of investment, and so forth.

Nature of Inter State Relations

• Cooperative: The state  governments regularly work together cooperating on subjects of not common hobby.
• Collaborative: The state governments collaborate with each other and with the central government, specifically on matters of national significance. 
• Competitive: There is a competitive detail to the relationship between nation governments in India, as they compete with each other for various assets.

Constitutional Provisions 

• Article 261: Full religion and credit shall be given throughout the territory of India to public acts, facts, and judicial court cases of the Union and of every state .
• Article 262: Parliament may additionally by using law offer for the adjudication of any dispute or grievance with appreciation to the use, distribution, or control of the waters of, or in, any Inter-State river or river valley.
• Article 263: It gives for the decision of disputes and differences between states thru the established order of an Inter-State Council.
• Articles 301 to 307: Part XIII of the constitution deals with the trade, trade, and Intercourse in Indian territory.

Institutions to ensure harmonious Inter-State relations in India

• • Inter-State Council: The Inter-State Council is a Constitutional body established under Article 263 of the Constitution of India that facilitates coordination and cooperation between the central government and the state governments.
    • The formation of a permanent Inter-State council was supported by the Sarkaria Commission.
    • The Inter-State council may be set up by the President If at any time it appears to the President that the established order of this kind of council might be in the public interest. In 1990, the primary such body was established by the presidential order.

• Composition of Inter State council:
• • • Chairperson: Prime Minister
    • Members:
    • Chief Ministers of all States
    • Chief Ministers of Union Territories having legislative assemblies
    • Administrators of UTs not having legislative assemblies
    • Governors of States under President’s Rule 
    • Six Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister 
• Zonal councils: The Zonal councils are the statutory bodies established by the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, answerable for promoting cooperation and coordination between states within their respective zones. The act divided the country into 5 zones and provided zonal councils for every:  Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern.
• North-Eastern Council: It was created by the North-Eastern council Act of 1971 to promote the economic and social development of the Northeastern states of India.
• National Development Council (NDC): National Development council was established in the year 1952. It is an apex frame for decision-making and deliberations on development matters.

Issues concerning Inter-State Relations in India

• Disputes over river water sharing: 

• • • Water is a scarce resource in India, and disputes over the distribution and use of water regularly rise among states. 
    • There have been conflicts among Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of water of the Cauvery River and among Maharashtra and Gujarat over the sharing of water of the Narmada River.
  • Language issues:
    • There had been conflicts among states over the use of Hindi as the respectable language of the country, with a few non-Hindi speaking states opposing the imposition of Hindi as the only authentic language.

• Boundary disputes: 

• • • Several disputes over the demarcation of nation boundaries have arisen in India.
    • Merapani, a small village adjacent to the plains of Assam’s Golaghat district, is said by both Assam and Nagaland.
    • Maharashtra and Karnataka have locked horns over the Belgaum district.

• Disparities in development: 

• • There are giant disparities in development among distinctive states in India, which can result in inter-state tensions.
  • States with better tiers of development, inclusive of Gujarat and Maharashtra, can also sense that they may be contributing greater to the national economy and aren’t receiving their honest share of assets and services.

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