Question

Along with NITI aayog, there is a requirement for rejuvenation of the Inter-state Council to promote cooperative federalism. Comment

Answer 1

Answer:
The Inter-State Council was set up in 1990 following the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission. The constitutional roots of the council are to be found in Article 263, which recommends that the President of India set up such a council to deal with federal issues.

The NITI Aayog is a policy think tank of the Government of India, established with the aim to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach. Even after many policy guidelines for reform in many sectors of the economy, there are certain limitations in functioning of NITI aayog.

Limitations in functioning of NITI aayog:

• It was created especially for developmental and planning purposes. Its primary function is not resolving the interstate disputes.
• The NITI Aayog body has no powers to support state plans.
• Consisting mostly of bureaucrats and are not elected representatives of people
• At present the country is facing many federal issues like simultaneous election, Interstate waste dispute and Insurgency. But at present there is no mechanism to resolve such issues.

To tackle such type of issues, Interstate council (ISC) is a right platform. It will help in promoting cooperative federalism and resolving the interstate disputes. ISC Can complement the functioning of NITI aayog

Role of ISC in promoting cooperative federalism:

1. The council helped bridge the trust deficit between the centre and the states. If not always a problem solver, it at least acted as a safety valve.
2. But the ISC has constitutional backing, as against the NITI Aayog which only has an executive mandate. This puts the states on more solid footing—an essential ingredient in building the atmosphere of cooperation needed for calibrating centre-state relations.
3. It is an apt institution to provide scope and substance for Co-operative federalism, especially for issues like Insurgency, simultaneous elections.

Way forward
There is a requirement of strengthening the institutional architecture and constitutional mandate of Interstate council. The council also has to have a permanent secretariat which will ensure that the periodic meetings of ISC.
ISC can complement the functioning of NITI aayog and can be helpful in solving interstate disputes. In this way ISC can strengthen the cooperative federalism.