Federalism In Times Of The Pandemic

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. It is characterized by culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments. However during the pandemic, federal spirit of India has been hampered.

• The Union Government has adopted a ‘unilateralist’ and ‘top-down’ approach, carried out without sufficient consultations with the States in response to the pandemic.

Fissures in Centre-State Relation during COVID

The way COVID pandemic has been dealt has revealed fissures in centre-state cooperation:

• Unilateral Lockdowns: Though states and CMs were drawn into the consultative matrix later on, the initial lockdown decision was completely unilateral. Most of the migrants’ intractable problems arise from such state exclusion.
• Irrational Zone Classification: Several states criticized the classification of the country by centre into ‘red’ and ‘orange’ zones. States demanded more autonomy in making classifications.
• Lack of Consultations with States: The Disaster Management Act of 2005 (under which binding COVID-19 guidelines are being issued by the Centre to the States) envisages the creation of a ‘National Plan’ and mandates State consultations before formulating a ‘National Plan’. However, to respond to COVID-19 centre has not formulated any ‘National Plan’ instead issued ad hoc binding guidelines to states, thereby circumventing the legislative mandate of State consultations. While some states have been issuing directions contrary to those recommended by the Centre.
• No CSR Exemptions for CM Relief Fund: The Centre has declared CSR exemptions for corporations donating to PM-CARES Fund, but not for those donating towards any Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. This directly hampers donations to any Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and diverts crores in potential State revenues to PM-CARES; making the States largely dependent upon the Centre.
• Absence of Inter-state Council: No Inter-state Council has been operationalised as an institutional mechanism for collegiate federal decision making during Covid.
• Inadequate Funding Support: During outbreak of Covid, Centre has given inadequate funding support to states revealed by-
  • Shortfall in GST Compensation: The gap between the revenue that State governments are allowed to generate and the expenditure that they are expected to incur has been widening, particularly with the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The shortfall of GST and the Centre’s lackadaisical response to demands for compensation by State governments has acted as a bone of contention in cooperative federalism.
  • Conditional Borrowing: To tackle the fund crunch due to COVID-19 pandemic the Central Government allowed additional borrowing to the States subject to implementation of four specific State level reforms- Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System; Ease of doing business reform; Urban Local body/ utility reforms; and Power Sector reforms

Implications

• It threatens the spirit of federalism.
• It decreases coordination between centre and states.
• It may give rise to increased conflicts between the states and Centre, which threatens the unity of India.
• It has affected delivery of social services, e.g., lack of availability of oxygen cylinders and vaccine to states.
• Disparities in development have increased between states.
• It would also mean low economic development of the country.
• It will increase protests, disputes and disrupt peace and order of the nation, leading to political instability.
• It may also give rise to secessionist movements.

India is a holding together federation where power is divided amongst constituent states and the Union. It holds immense diversity in the form of social customs, religions, castes, languages, classes and cultures. Ensuring that the diverse voices are accommodated and the constituent groups share equitable power, there must be spirit of cooperation and coordination between the Union and states. It will ensure that aftermath of a once in a century incidence like COVID pandemic do not threaten the peace and stability of India.