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Governance How many State? Privately, both the national parties, the Congress and the BJP agree that there is need to have smaller States. There are States where the districts are being ruled from as far as 500 kilo meters. Meanwhile, the smaller states like Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have demonstrated what can be achieved by them. However, in an era of the coalition governments is it possible to achieve the goal of having smaller States? Lalit Sethi The Union Government has floated a proposal to set up a new States Reorganization Commission to create economically and politically viable States. The aim is to meet the rising aspirations of the people through closer and more sympathetic governance within composite regions. At present several areas are ruled from distant capitals, as far as 500 km away. At times local problems or basic needs and certain other issues do not receive the attention they deserve. Local authorities are not always authorized to take decisions and have to receive orders from above. Such problems are sought to be attended to. The first States Reorganization Commission was set up soon after India declared itself a Republic in 1950 and it was headed by Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru. Its report was implemented in 1956. Three categories of A, B and C States were abolished and linguistic States were created and several Union Territories were carved out. The Constitution was amended a number of times to create more States. Today there are 28 States and seven Union Territories. The Government proposes to call a meeting of all political parties to try and reach a consensus on smaller and more viable States, especially by breaking up the large States like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, besides West Bengal. Even if the two largest parties in Parliament, the Congress and the BJP as well as some of their allies agree privately, will the leftists and Shiv Sena not throw a spanner in the works and hold up the setting up of the new SRC even if there may appear to be a crying need for it? Vidharbha and Telengana may at this point of time be the strongest political demands, but will it be possible for the political establishment to address them? That is the question. The next General Election is less than two years away. The Government could go ahead with the setting up of a States Reorganization Commission, but in the era of coalition politics and strong outside supporters not being part of the Government, important decisions are not easy to take. But, perhaps the Government may do so in a year from now without facing much trouble. It could leave it to the next Government to study the final or interim reports of the SRC, which might be given a time frame of two years to complete its work. But commissions have always received extensions because they have to receive a plethora of representations and hear hundreds of representatives of interested parties, groups and individuals, apart from experts, former administrators and scholars. In preliminary statements, it has been mentioned that Gorkhaland, which has a regional development council, could be considered for Statehood in a reorganized India. But would this be a thorn in the flesh of the CPI (M) leadership? Would it agree to let Darjeeling and adjoining areas slip out of the control of the West Bengal Government? Similarly, would the Shiv Sena allow the Vidharbha region separate from Maharashtra or would it feel happy that the backward region had better govern itself rather than let Maratha pride be hurt by a neglected region? Telengana remains a thorny issue as Hyderabad is the capital of the Andhra State Government and Hyderabad falls in Telengana. Would it be possible to carve out a large Union territory with Nalgonda district thrown in to provide a composite capital for Andhra and Telengana in the same way as Chandigarh serves both Punjab and Haryana? Ms Mayawati may not wish her vast empire of U.P. to be truncated, but she may well be assured that the reorganization commission will take a long time to reach its conclusions and the government of the day may take its own time to implement or moderate the recommendations. The demand for Statehood for Delhi has been voiced by both the Congress and the BJP, which have ruled Delhi at different times. The proposed SRC is bound to take up the issue, but the security considerations of the National Capital and the working of the Union Government are likely to be the prime issues before it. One possibility could be that Delhi could be given Statehood, but the Governor might retain control over the police and law and order, if not the Delhi Development Authority. The New Delhi district may remain more or less out of the purview of the State Government, except perhaps the New Delhi Municipal Committees. But several Union Ministries may continue to exercise direct and indirect control over Delhi. Such critical issues will have to be faced by politicians of all hues rather than brushed under the carpet sooner or later. In the process of reorganization, will India have 40 or 50 States in all? Will India have seven or ten Union Territories in a process of give and take between the political parties? It is perhaps too early to speculate on these questions, but it has long been felt on many hands that India should ultimately have 50 States. Whether the time has come to face the crunch or not, remains to be seen, but the monsoon session of Parliament could see some activity behind the scenes on these issues, provided some burning issues and new controversies do not relegate the question. The two major national political parties may expect to gain from smaller States as it may be easier for them to win elections in limited areas rather than sprawling States as is evident from the creation of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. This has also happened since the creation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh out of the composite Punjab, besides the States of Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. But there is a continuing demand for Bodoland being carved out of Assam. Regional parties will make their own calculations whether they will benefit or lose their influence in a reorganized India. How political forces play the game remains to be seen. | |
