Cooperative Federalism in the Present Scenario: Issues and Challenges

 When two or more independent States come together to create a larger body with a division of powers and responsibilities, a federal structure is formed. The notion behind federalism is that the Central government at the national level and the regional governments should be independent of each other in their respective constitutionally demarcated areas. However, the traditional notion of federalism wherein the two levels of government remain restricted to their respective constitutional jurisdictions is not being followed in letter and spirit. The federal government’s overarching role is generally prevalent due to political structure, history, social welfare, and growth imperatives coupled with the national security exigencies of any country. These persistent and often antagonistic powers gave way to a reformed form of federalism that gained ample support from the political establishment and the public. This new form of federalism is tagged Cooperative federalism. Taking up the case of India, the term Cooperative federalism has been bandied about in the Indian polity for decades; it was given a new life when the government came to power because of the 16th Parliamentary Elections in 2014 and then again in 2019 set in motion Cooperative federalism. Therefore, amid India’s growing rhetoric about strengthening Cooperative federalism, it is important to step back and evaluate the country’s actual progress.  

An appraisal of the Indian Constitution reveals that the framers of the Constitution departed from the models of federal constitutions established in the United States, Australia, and Canada and modified a vital feature of a federal Constitution. Due to this deviation, various epithets such as quasi-federal, unitary with federal features, or federal with unitary features have been used for describing its nature. Austin describes it as Cooperative federalism. 

Upon assuming office, the present regime pledged to build the Centre-State relationship on the lines of Cooperative federalism. The increased devolution of taxes to States, the passing of the GST Act, of 2016, and the coordinated effort in the fight against the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic are seen by many in the spirit of cooperative federalism. The contemporary events, however, have shown how far India is from being a cooperative union of States. For instance, the Centre’s approach on the issue of the GST Compensation fund has shattered the cornerstone of Centre-State ties and cast doubt on the possibility of States once again banding together for such commitment to Centre-initiated programmes. It should be recognised that imposing unilateral policies and programmes without first considering their effects and establishing common ground with the States would render them counterproductive and further deteriorate the Centre-State relationship, thus defeating the very objective of Cooperative federalism. The growing dissent among States against the Centre is detrimental to the sustainability of our federal system, with ramifications in the form of civil unrest and low socio-economic growth. Hence, a long-term, institutionalized, discursive system that is relevant to existing and prospective federal challenges are required. One such mechanism is the Inter-State Council which can tackle national issues like Climate change, crop burning, inter-state water disputes, regional reservation, infrastructural projects, legislation on subjects in the concurrent list, and other concerns effectively. 

By Komal Chauhan