Tamil Nadu govt committee on Centre-state relations submits report to Stalin

Chennai: The three-member panel appointed by the Tamil Nadu government on Monday submitted the first part of its report to Chief Minister M K Stalin discussing issues ranging from the role of Governor and delimitation to Goods and Services tax and language policy of the Union Government.

The committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph and consisting of retired bureaucrat K Ashok Vardhan Shetty and academic Prof M Naganathan, was appointed by Stalin in April to review Centre-State relationship.

In a statement, the government said the submission of Part I marks an important milestone in Tamil Nadu’s continuing engagement with the evolution of India’s federal structure.

“The objective is not to weaken the Union, but to right-size it—enabling it to focus on genuinely national responsibilities while restoring to the States the autonomy essential for effective governance and aligning authority with responsibility,” the statement said.

The report consists of ten chapters such as the Case for Decentralisation and State Autonomy, Amendment of the Constitution, Territorial Integrity of States, Language, the Governor, Delimitation, Elections, Education, Health, GST.

“The Report undertakes a detailed examination of contemporary federal challenges and advances concrete, actionable recommendations aimed at restoring federal balance and strengthening genuine cooperative federalism within the constitutional framework,” the government added.

Since the issue concerns the country, the government said efforts are underway to translate Part I into major Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi, and Assamese.

“A Union that diffuses its energies across functions better performed by States and Local Bodies risks distraction from the larger national challenges that only it can address,” the statement added.

Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly exactly 51 years after his father and then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi moved a resolution seeking State Autonomy on April 15, Stalin said no meaningful changes have occurred in relationship between the Centre and states despite recommendations of Sarkaria and the Punchhi Committees in 1983 and 2004 respectively.

The committee has examined and re-evaluated all provisions of the Constitution and existing laws, orders, policies and arrangements that may have an impact on the relationship between the Union and the States.