Inter-state council

Inter-state council – आंतरराज्य परिषद

संविधानातील तरतूद

Article 263 of the Constitution of India( [size:1.44MB] ) provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council. The text of the Article reads as under:  “263. Provisions with respect to an inter-State Council – If at 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 –  

1. (a) inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen between States;
2. (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
3. (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,

it 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.”

The Commission on Centre-State Relations under the Chairmanship of Justice R. S. Sarkaria in its report in January 1988 recommended that:

1. “(a) A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) should be set up under Article 263.
2. (b) The IGC should be charged with the duties set out in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 263, other than socio-economic planning and development.”(para 9.10.01 of the Report)

Government of India accepted the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission to set-up an Inter-State Council and notified the establishment of the Inter-State Council vide Presidential Order dated 28.05.1990.( [size:1MB] )

आंतरराज्यपरिषदेच्या स्थापनेसाठीचा राष्ट्रपतींचा आदेश

Zonal councils – विभागीय परिषदा

The Zonal Councils were created vide Part-III of the States Re-Organisation Act, 1956  ( [size:17.4kb]) as a part of the scheme of the reorganisation of the States and matters connected therewith.

Section 15 of the States Reorgnization Act 1956 provides that there shall be a Zonal Council for each of the five zones of the country. The present composition of each Zonal Council is as under:

Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,  Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Union Territory of Chandigarh, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.

Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;

Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal;

Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and  Daman & Diu.

Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Functions of the Councils:

(1) Each Zonal Council shall be an advisory body and may discuss any matter in which some or all of the States represented in that Council, or the Union and one or more of the States represented in that Council, have a common interest and advise the Central Government and the Government of each State concerned as to the action to be taken on any such matter.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the above provisions , a Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to:

(a) any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;

(b) any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport; and

(c) any matter connected with, or arising out of, the reorganisation of the States under this Act.

Sarkaria Commission Report

• Chapter 0. Introduction    [Size -61.6kb]
• Chapter I. Perspective   [Size -106kb]
• Chapter II. Legislative Relations    [Size -606kb]
• Chapter III. Administrative Relations    [Size -87.4kb]
• Chapter IV. Role of the Governor    [Size -196kb]
• Chapter V. Reservation of Bills by Governors for President’s consideration and Promulgation of Ordinances    [Size -147kb]
• Chapter VI. Emergency Provisions    [Size -218kb]
• Chapter VII. Deployment of Union Armed Forces in States for Public Order Duties    [Size -108kb]
• Chapter VIII. All India Services    [Size -108kb]
• Chapter IX. Inter-Governmental Council    [Size -61.7kb]
• Chapter X. Financial Relations    [Size -798kb]
• Chapter XI. Economic and Social Planning    [Size -321kb]
• Chapter XII. Industries    [Size -129kb]
• Chapter XIII. Mines and Minerals    [Size -69.3kb]
• Chapter XIV. Agriculture    [Size -106kb]
• Chapter XV. Forests    [Size -53.5kb]
• Chapter XVI. Food and Civil Supplies    [Size -31.3kb]
• Chapter XVII. Inter-State River Water Disputes    [Size -63.4kb]
• Chapter XVIII. Trade, Commerce and Inter-course within the Territory of India    [Size -63.2kb]
• Chapter XIX. Mass Media    [Size -98.4kb]
• Chapter XX. Miscellaneous Matters    [Size -103kb]
• Chapter XXI. General Observations    [Size -36.8kb]
• Chapter XXII. Appendices    [Size -394kb]