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Centre–State relations in Covid time
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: When we discuss Centre-State relations in Indian context, what comes to mind are terms like the Finance Commission, cooperative federalism, bargaining federalism or quasi-federalism, and so-called 'Team India'.
- Real nature: Mostly, Indian federalism has been conflicting rather than cooperative, which is at times reflected in the behaviour of central government being discriminatory towards states with opposition governments. In pandemic time, the tussle between Union & states over vaccine distribution, oxygen supply, availability of life-saving medicines show how deep the fracture has become.
- Federal issues:
- Federalism that seems inconvenient - Since the Central government was the sole agency regulating the production and distribution of the vaccines and oxygen, it was its exclusive responsibility to ensure adequate and judicious distribution. But many states complained of discrimination. The new vaccination policy, in the garb of relaxing controls, sought to almost pass the burden on to the states as it makes the states responsible to procure vaccines directly from the producers and allows for differential price-setting. The result was floating of state-wise global tenders for vaccines procurement, a very unpleasant situation.
- Centralisation of pandemic powers - The centre invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act, centralising the powers to deal with the pandemic. That may not look wrong at first sight, but consulting the states in a vast nation like India is not only a legislative mandate cast upon the centre under these acts, but also a wise thing to do. The binding COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Centre to the States requires full cooperation, after all.
- Rural India hit - The first wave of Covid-19 in 2020 witnessed the mass exodus of the migrant workers into their home states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, etc. As these workers again started reverse migrating to their home states, news that Covid-19 had entered rural India hit headlines. The sustenance of agricultural, industrial and construction activities would be difficult in the absence of a majority of the workforce in the backdrop of the lifting of restrictions.
- Financial troubles - Since 2018, when the Indian economy's GDP growth started slowing down, the states were hard-pressed as the promised GST compensation amounts (a solemn promise by Centre) never materialised. The large states were left with deficits of thousands of crores of rupees, and minor amounts kept trickling in, after lot of protesting. Kerala even went to the Supreme Court against the Centre, on this issue. The pandemic totally crushed any hope of immediate relief, and states were further pushed to the brink. It is important to honour the promises made, else the federal system will creak. Luckily, since October 2020, the monthly GST collections have been upwards of Rs.1 lakh crore mark.
- What to do now: The relaxation of limits imposed by the FRBM Act, regarding the market borrowings by the states, was a step in the right direction. These borrowings can be backed by sovereign guarantee by the Union Government. The Union government can also provide money to states so that they can take necessary action to deal with the crisis at the state level. A successful approach to tackle the crisis would still need Centre’s intervention and guidance in a facilitative manner, where the Centre would communicate extensively the best practices across states, address the financial needs effectively, and leverage national expertise for scalable solutions. Management of disasters and emergencies (both natural and manmade) should be included in the List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule. The government should consider making the Inter-State Council a permanent body.
- Summary: To manage and lead a vast and commplex nation like India, the leadership at central level needs to adopt a hugely accommodative approach, with a no-confrontation attitude. Cooperation and mutual understanding will help states deliver services to their citizens far better. For now, the urgent challenge is to arrange for vaccines.
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