Punchhi Commission

Background and evolution

Two decades after the Sarkaria Commission's 1988 report, India's federal landscape had changed. Coalition governments had become the norm, liberalisation had altered the economic roles of the Centre and states, the 73rd and 74th Amendments had created a third tier of government, and internal security threats such as terrorism and Naxalism crossed state borders. The government therefore set up a new commission in April 2007 under Justice M. M. Punchhi, a former Chief Justice of India.

The commission submitted its report in seven volumes in 2010. Unlike Sarkaria, which focused heavily on the Governor and Article 356, Punchhi addressed a wider range of themes: local governance, internal security, natural resources, environment, and social and economic planning, besides constitutional relations.

Key features and provisions

• Governors: a fixed five-year term; removal only through a resolution of the state legislature, similar to impeachment; appointment after consulting the Chief Minister; the Governor should not be an active politician; a time limit of six months for deciding on assent to state Bills; Governors should not act as chancellors of universities.
• Emergency powers: "localising" emergency provisions so that only a district or part of a state can be placed under central rule, instead of the whole state; Article 356 to be used only as a last resort.
• Internal security: allowing the Centre to deploy forces in a state without its consent for a limited period during communal violence, with safeguards; a law on communal violence.
• Concurrent List: wider consultation with states through the Inter-State Council before legislating.
• Inter-State Council: should meet at least three times a year and become a vibrant forum.
• Fiscal relations: review of cesses and surcharges, which are not shared with states, and greater fiscal space for local bodies.