Sept. 6, 2024
State Reorganization in India
Context:
It has been 10 years since Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act of 2014.
Evolution of State Reorganization in India:
The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was constituted in 1953 to address the growing demand for reorganisation of Sates after Independence and to recommend the principles and broad guidelines on which the States can be reorganized. The Commission submitted its report in September 1955. To give effect to the scheme of reorganization which emerged from the consideration of the proposals, the States Reorganization Act, 1956, was enacted by the Parliament under Article 4 of the Constitution of India.
States formed Under the States Reorganization Act 1956: Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
Thereafter the Parliament also enacted various Reorganization:
• Bombay Reorganization Act in 1960
• Punjab Reorganization Act in 1966
• Himachal Pradesh Reorganization Act in 1970
• North-Eastern States reorganization Act in 1971.
• Telangana was bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh in 2014 by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act of 2014.
Arguments in favour of Smaller States:
More targeted governance: Better efficiency in governance as leader to people ratio would decrease, policies targeted at larger population will be reduced to fewer population.
Proximity to the capital city: Reduced distances between the state capital and peripheral areas would improve the quality of governance and administrative responsiveness and accountability.
Proper utilization of central funds: Problem in large states is that the allocation of funds by the Centre can never be evenly distributed exacerbating inequality.
Better law and order management: Experts have observed that the Naxalism issue in Andhra Pradesh was a result of constant neglect and lack of progress, after the creation of Telangana, the issue has been largely addressed.
Arguments against formation of Smaller States:
Division: Devolution of powers to the grass root level and an accountable bureaucracy is what is needed for governance, not division or creation of smaller states.
Example: If only smaller state creation were the panacea, Jharkhand should have been a developed state. Both Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand account for 68% of insurgent attacks.
Reduced Self-Sustainability: A small state is likely to face limitations in terms of the natural and human resources available to it making it more dependent on the Centre for financial transfers and centrally-sponsored schemes.
Example: Post division, Telangana has become a landlocked state by losing out on major ports, coastline, and golden quadrilateral and major railway freight corridors.
Cost of Infrastructure: New States may find themselves lacking in infrastructure (administrative industrial and Academic), which requires time, money, and effort to build.
Threat to unity: If states are divided solely based on factors such as dominant caste, creed, language, culture, the idea of making “One India” as laid down by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and the idea Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat gets impacted. Such divisions cause more hatred amongst the states, which is not favorable for interstate relations and trade.
Conclusion and way forward:
Focus on governance: We can see that the poor governance is not necessarily linked to the size of the state. Today, technology can help in better governance, even for the large states and even smaller states can remain misgoverned because of lack of political and administrative will.
Strengthening PRIs: In most states, the perception of exclusion has led to the demand for smaller states, this perception of exclusion needs to be addressed, the best way to deal with this is to strengthen PRIs and grassroot devolution as per the constitutional scheme of 73rd amendment.
Long term assessment: Thus, creation of smaller states on one side holds potential for targeted governance, economic growth, better representation, and addressing sentiments of people, it also comes with challenges like resource conflict, short term economic strain, and potential administrative disruptions and bureaucratic burden. The need therefore is of informed, sensitive, and participatory approach, keeping the larger national interest in mind, instead of merely pacifying political needs.