What if Tamil Nadu does a Brexit?

Tags

brexit, constitution, federalism, governance, GST, karnataka, kerala, tamil nadu

It may not happen. But growing inter-state diversities on multiple fronts can become unmanageable, if ignored.

People in the rich states of Kerala & TN earn 4 times more than the our friends in the poorest state of Bihar. Inter-state income disparity is rising.

Disparity in natural resources, like water for example, have ensured continuous inter-state disputes like the contentious water-sharing agreements between Karnataka & TN. Such disputes show no signs of abating.

State governments often pursue unique social welfare, industrial and other policies suited to local needs. But the implementation of these policies & the benefits realized are so uncertain & volatile that inter-state diversities are only bound to grow.

A natural outcome of a vast & growing diversity is a tendency towards self-protection. Why should TN endorse GST when it thinks it will lose more than it gains? Why should Karnataka share water with TN when its own people & farmers are facing severe drought? Why shouldn’t a state continuously increase job quotas for its own people? Will migrants from poor states be looked down upon and be relegated to low-income jobs not being taken up by the locals of richer states? Is the slowly escalating inter-state rivalry for investments healthy or will it distort incentives and become messy?

We shouldn’t be surprised if a few intractable inter-state or centre-state issues come up in the next 5-10 years.

Source: PTI

How to improve our cooperative federalism? Should we revisit the union, state & concurrent lists? The central government has little say in critical subjects like water, education, law & order etc., which require standardized national policies & implementation drive. The state governments want more financial & administrative autonomy and hate interference from the centre.

The GST idea was mooted more than 10 years back and the bill has taken so long to be approved. Its full implementation will take another 2 years. That’s the state of our cooperative federalism.

Despite increasing inter-state and centre-state dialogues, if the rules of the game (aka constitution) are not changed, we should brace ourselves for some fantastic fireworks.

The gap between rich & poor states

Inter state council

 

 

 

Why Slow Progress?

Tags

coalition, constitution, diversity, goals, progress, transformation

Historian Ramachandra Guha, in one of his books, points out that India is simultaneously undergoing five dramatic transformations – urban, industrial, national, democratic & social. More people are moving from villages to cities. We are more dependent on industry & services, moving away from agriculture. We are struggling with self-governance, after having been ruled by europeans for a long time. What was before a feudal & deferential political culture is now a participative & combative democracy. A once hierarchical and patriarchal society is now asserting the rights of the individual, women and lower castes. In North America & Europe, these transformations were staggered. Besides, we are astonishingly diverse, differentiated by religion, language, caste and ethnicity, ecology, technology, dress and cuisine. His case is that all these makes India the most interesting country in the world.

While that is true, such diversity also makes India perhaps the most ungovernable country. Our political system, culture & practices may require a big change, if we want those five transformations to ensure an inclusive & faster progress.

Lets consider just two stumbling blocks – coalition governments and power distribution between centre & the states.

Constrained by their very structure, coalition governments cannot move fast. In a bid to win elections, most political parties appeal to certain sections of the society, carve out the electorate for short-term & quick gains, thereby jeopardizing the chances of a majority government. Without a majority government, the chances of swift policy execution are pretty low. When celebrating our diversity, we should keep in mind the same diversity provides excellent breeding grounds for caste-based and other narrow-minded politics, which engender coalition governments, political deadlocks, poor policy execution and slow progress.

The legislative power distribution between the centre & states is laid down by the constitution through the 3 lists – central, state & concurrent. The central government doesn’t have a say on the items on the State List (eg. police & water), which are controlled by the state governments. Items on the concurrent list (eg. electricity, education) are up for grabs, meaning both central & state governments have a say. This power structure has led to a complete breakdown of co-ordination & co-operation between the centre & states. The situation is worsened if the centre & a particular state are governed by different political parties. Inter-state disputes are also common and go one for years without resolution.

For instance, even after six decades of independence, police, water, electricity & education are sectors which have seen little or modest progress. There has been no lack of good policies, ideas & recommendations, but implementation has often been stymied because the centre & states don’t agree. Policies are even rolled back or shelved, wasting time & effort, besides being regressive.

As a nation, we need overarching goals, encompassing both state & central governments. Today, various political parties have their own manifestos, central & state governments have their own policies, some of these contradictory, with different priorities & sub-goals, leading to confusion & stalemate.

Any citizen should be able to state the top 5 goals of the nation. He should have a clear expectation of what will be achieved, by when, and who is responsible & accountable. An illiterate villager in a remote part of Assam should be able to access information on these national goals and its implementation status at the local panchayat.

We need a few basic & well-defined national goals, which are binding on the central and all state governments. Goals which have to be achieved within a definite deadline. Goals which cannot be changed even when parties change at the centre or state. Goals which can be reviewed for any recalibration only with the approval of the President who, with his discretionary powers, can act as a check against the government, but is still directly accountable to the people.

Sounds utopian. But without an overhaul of our political system and overarching national goals, our diversity will continue to be a severe speed breaker.

Makers of Modern India by Ramachandra Guha