Sarkaria Commission

In 1983, the Central government appointed a three-member Commission on Centre-state relations under the chairmanship of R.S. Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court to examine and review the working of existing arrangements between the Centre and states.

Recommendations: A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council should be set up under Article 263.

• Article 356 (President’s Rule) should be used very sparingly, in extreme cases as a last resort when all the available alternatives fail.
• The institution of All-India Services should be further strengthened and some more such services should be created. The residuary powers of taxation should continue to remain with the Parliament, while the other residuary powers should be placed in the Concurrent List.
• When the president withholds his assent to the state bills, the reasons should be communicated to the state government. The procedure of consulting the chief minister in the appointment of the state governor should be prescribed in the Constitution itself.
• The net proceeds of the corporation tax may be made permissibly shareable with the states.
• The surcharge on income tax should not be levied by the Centre except for a specific purpose and for a strictly limited period