Indian Commissions: Sarkaria, Rajamannar And Punchhi Commission

The Government of India creates commissions on an ad hoc or permanent basis to guide, advise, or give answers to different situations that fall under the purview of the respective ministry. This article will cover several types of commissions such as Sarkaria commission, Rajamannar commission, Punchhi commission and also their recommendations.

Sarkaria Commission

In 1983, the Indian government formed the Sarkaria Commission. The Sarkaria Commission was mandated with evaluating the central-state interaction in a number of areas and making recommendations within the Indian Constitution's framework. The Commission was named after Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, a retired Supreme Court of India judge who acted as the commission's Chairman. Shri B. Sivaraman and Dr S.R. Sen were the committee's other members. 

The Commission will study and assess the current arrangements between the Union and States in terms of authorities, functions, and duties in all sectors, and make any necessary adjustments or recommendations. It was granted one year to finish its task at first, but the deadline was extended four times. In January 1988, it submitted its report. The study is divided into 19 chapters and contains 247 recommendations. Below we discuss some important recommendations of Sarkaria Commission. On the government website the Sarkaria commission pdf is available that include the all recommendations of Sarkaria Commission.

Sarkaria Commission Recommendations

• Under Article 263, a permanent Inter-State Council called the Intergovernmental Council should be established.

• Article 356 (President's Rule) should be used in severe situations, as a last resort after all other options have failed.

• The All-India Services institution should be strengthened, and additional similar services should be formed.

• The residuary taxation powers should remain with Parliament, but the other residuary powers should be put in the Concurrent List.

• The reasons for the president's refusal to sign state bills should be communicated to the state government.

• The National Development Council (NDC) should be reconstituted and renamed the National Economic and Development Council (NEDC).

• To promote the spirit of federalism, the zonal councils should be reconstituted and reactivated.

• Even without the consent of states, the Centre should be able to deploy its armed forces. It is, however, desirable that the states be consulted.

• Before enacting a bill on a topic from the Concurrent List, the Centre shall confer with the states.

• Governors should be eminent individuals, from outside the state, who have not been involved in active politics for at least a period of time before their appointment, and so on. 

Rajamannar Commission

From 1957 to 1958, Pakala Venkataramana Rao Rajamannar served as the interim Governor of Madras State. Rajamannar was the first Indian Chief Justice of the Madras High Court after independence, serving from the year 1948 to 1961. He was also the first Chairman of New Delhi's Sangeet Natak Akademi. The DMK government of Tamil Nadu appointed a three-member committee, chaired by Dr P.V. Rajamannar, to investigate the entire issue of Centre-state relations in September 1969. The committee submitted its report two years later, in 1971.

Rajamannar Commission Recommendations

• An Inter-State Council should be established right away.

• Every Bill of National Importance or that is likely to affect the interests of one or more States shall be referred to the Inter-State Council before being introduced in Parliament, and the Inter-State Council's comments should be communicated to Parliament at the time of Bill's introduction.

• Several subjects from the Union and Concurrent Lists should be transferred to the State List.

• The states should be granted the residuary powers.

• IAS, IPS, and IFS (all-India services) should be abolished.

• The Finance Commission should be established as a permanent entity.

• The Planning Commission should be scrapped and replaced by a statutory body.

• Articles 356, 357, and 365 (which deal with the President's Rule) should be eliminated.

• The provision that the state ministry serves at the governor's pleasure should be eliminated.

Punchhi Commission

The Government of India established the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations on April 27, 2007, under the chairmanship of Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, former Chief Justice of India, to look into new issues of Centre-State relations, taking into account the changes in India's polity and economy since the Sarkaria Commission looked into the issue last. 

The Punchhi Commission investigated and reviewed the current Union-State arrangements, as well as various Court pronouncements on functions, responsibilities, and powers in all spheres, including administrative relations, financial relations, emergency provisions, governors' role, economic and social planning, Panchayati Raj institutions, and so on. In its seven-volume report, which was delivered to the government on March 30, 2010, the Commission made 273 recommendations.

Punchhi Commission Recommendations

• Relationships between the centre and the states have evolved.

• Recommendations on Article 19, Articles 355 and 356 of the Constitution, and Article 263 of the Constitution.

• The upgrading of the planning model to remove regional imbalances is one of the economic and financial relations and recommendations.

• Recommendations on the 73rd and 74th amendments, as well as the Sixth Schedule

• Terror, Naxalism, insurgency, and communal violence are all covered under internal security.

• Issues relating to the environment and resource sharing, notably in the areas of rivers and minerals.

• Good governance and social development.

Conclusion

Thus, these commissions were established in order to study the Center and State relations. The Sarkaria Commission's duty was to study the central-state interaction in a variety of sectors and provide recommendations within the framework of the Indian Constitution. The study is divided into 19 chapters and contains 247 recommendations. Rajamannar was the first Indian to be appointed to the Madras High Court as Chief Justice. The Punchhi Commission examined and reviewed the functioning of existing Union-State arrangements. In its seven-volume report, delivered to the government on March 30, 2010, the Commission made 273 recommendations.