FEDERALISM AMRITA SALUJA

WHAT IS FEDERALISM? A system of govt in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units. The one at the central level looks after subjects of national interest. The one at the state or province level looks after the day- to-day administration work.

How is Federalism different from Unitary government? Unitary govt There are two or more levels of govt The central govt cannot order state govt to do something State govt has powers of its own and not answerable to central govt. There is either only one level of govt or the sub units are subordinate to central govt The central govt can pass orders to state govt. State govt is a subordinate and doesn’t have powers of its own.

Features of Federalism Two or more levels of govt. Each tier has its own jurisdiction. Existence and authority of each tier is constitutionally guaranteed. Fundamental provisions in constitution can be changed ONLY after consent of both levels of govt. Courts have the power to interpret the powers of different levels of govt. Financial autonomy at each level of govt. sources of revenue clearly specified Dual objectives- unity of the country but at the same time accommodating regional diversity. So it has both the aspects- mutual trust and agreement to live together. Features of Federalism

ROLE OF SUPREME COURT IN A FEDERAL STATE Acts as an umpire Solves the disputes between the different levels of govt in the exercise of their respective powers. ROLE OF SUPREME COURT IN A FEDERAL STATE

Two routes through which federations have been formed Coming together federations Independent states coming together to form a bigger unit Pooling sovereignty and retaining identity Equal powers amongst constituent units and vis a vis central govt. USA, Switzerland, Australia Holding back federations Large country divides its powers between states and central Central govt more powerful than state Unequal power amongst constituent units. India, Spain, Belgium

INDIA AS A FEDERAL COUNTRY There are three tiers of govt namely- central govt, state and panchayats and municipalities Division of powers through three lists- union list, state list and concurrent list Any change to be passed by both the houses of parliament, and then legislature of at least half of the states Creation of states on linguistic, cultural and ethnicity basis to avoid conflict Restructuring centre-state relations. There is now respect for autonomy of a state

The Three Lists Union list State List Concurrent List Defence and armed Forces Atomic Energy and Mineral Resources Foreign Affairs National Highways Railways Census Banking Currency Organisations such as RBI, CBI Local Government bodies Agriculture Tourism of a state Toll taxes and Land Revenue State Pension Public Debt of the State Elections of a particular state Salaries and Allowances to Ministers of State Forests Population Control Education Trade Unions Religious Institutes Electricity Inland Waterways Economic and Social Planning

The need for language policy in India India is a multi-linguistic country. So a need to respect all the languages. To avoid conflicts between people speaking different languages. To preserve our rich heritage of different languages, as guaranteed by the constitution.

Features of Language Policy in India No specific status of National language given to any one language. HINDI only spoken by 40% of the population. Besides Hindi, 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages. States have their own official language.

CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS Earlier, the same party ruled both at the centre and state. If a different party ruled at the state level then centre tried to undermine the powers of that state. Over the years, there has been a rise in regional parties. Beginning of the era of Coalition Government (culture of power sharing) Supreme Court has made it difficult for the centre to dismiss any state govt in an arbitrary manner.

Impact of Regionalism on policies of India MERITS DEMERITS Rise of regional parties and coalition parties have led to new power sharing in India. More respect for the authority of State govt. Federalism now more effective. May result in political instability between states. Lead to inter-state rivalry and conflicts. A threat to national integration.

DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

WHAT IS DECENTRALISATION? When power is taken away from Central and State government and given to local governments.

NEED FOR DECENRATISATION Large number of problems and issues are best settled at local level Local people have better knowledge of their problems in their localities They have better ideas of where to spend money efficiently It gives people a chance to directly participate in the decision making.

LOCAL GOVT AT THE RURAL LEVEL Known by the name Panchayati Raj At Village Level Each village of group of villages have Gram Panchayat. It is directly elected by Gram Sabha which includes villagers above 18 years of age. Gram panchayat consists of Panch and the head Sarpanch. The Panchayat works under the supervision of Gram Sabha and the Sabha meets atleast twice a year to review the performance of Gram Panchayat.

LOCAL GOVT AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL Few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a Block Blocks are looked after by Block Samiti. All the block samitis come together to form a zilla parishad

LOCAL GOVT AT THE URBAN LEVEL local government for urban areas is the municipal corporation for big cities and municipality for towns. The bodies consist of representatives elected by the people in the cities. Head of municipal corporation in Mayor.

Problems faced by local govt Gram Sabha elections are not held regularly Most state govt have not transferred powers to local govt. Local govt don’t have adequate resources to function properly