Sarkaria Commission was set up in June 1983 by the central government of India. The Sarkaria Commission's charter was to examine the relationship and balance of power between state and central governments in the country and suggest changes within the framework of Constitution of India. [1] The Commission was so named as it was headed by Justice Rajinder Singh Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.[1] The other two members of the committee were Shri B.Sivaraman and Dr.S.R.Sen.
The Commission submitted its final 1600-page report in 1988. The final report contained 247 specific recommendations. In spite of the large size of its reports - the Commission recommended, by and large, status quo in the Centre-State relations, especially in the areas, relating to legislative matters, role of Governors and use of Article 356[2].
It is widely accepted that to whatever extent the Commissions suggested change, the recommendations were not implemented by the government.[2][3]
The Commission after conducting several studies, eliciting information, holding discussions and after detailed deliberations submitted its report in January 1988. The report contains 247 recommendations spreading over the following 19 Chapters. Chapter 0. Introduction Chapter I. Perspective Chapter II. Legislative Relations Chapter III. Administrative Relations Chapter IV. Role of the Governor Chapter V. Reservation of Bills by Governors for President's consideration and Promulgation of Ordinances Chapter VI. Emergency Provisions Chapter VII. Deployment of Union Armed Forces in States for Public Order Duties Chapter VIII. All India Services Chapter IX. Inter-Governmental Council Chapter X. Financial Relations Chapter XI. Economic and Social Planning Chapter XII. Industries Chapter XIII. Mines and Minerals Chapter XIV. Agriculture Chapter XV. Forests Chapter XVI. Food and Civil Supplies Chapter XVII. Inter-State River Water Disputes Chapter XVIII. Trade, Commerce and Inter-course within the Territory of India Chapter XIX. Mass Media Chapter XX. Miscellaneous Matters Chapter XXI. General Observations Chapter XXII. Appendices
Sarkaria commission