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Punchhi Commission – Important Recommendations and Reports, UPSC PDF

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 14th, 2023

Punchhi Commission plays a major role during the discussion of relationships between any two states and the smooth functioning of the entire system. The importance of the Punchhi Commission is in supporting autonomous planning and budgeting on the community level to link the primary assistance given to various states for improved performance.

The Government of India created Punchhi Commission on 27 April 2007 to review all the matters and controversies between the state and the country’s centre. This article will discuss in-depth attributes regarding the Punchhi Commission recommendations, members of the commission, its objectives, MM Punchhi Commission report, etc.

Historical Background of Punchhi Commission

The Punchhi Commission’s issues were initially scrutinized by the Sarkaria Commission, which proposed its report in 1988. Under Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi’s chairmanship (18 January 1998 – 9 October 1998), the Indian Government formed this commission.

  • The Punchhi committee was established on 27th April 2007.
  • The Commission submitted its report to P. Chidambaram (Then Home Minister of India) in March 2010.

Aims and Responsibilities of Punchhi Commission

One of the crucial purposes of the commission is to study the central roles of distinct governors who attain power along with taking care of their removal methods. The main objectives for launching MM Punchhi Commission are listed below-

  • Analysis of the applicability of the tax separation, the trade business between the state and the center could be easily unified to launch an Indian market.
  • Punchhi Commission regularly checks the Suo-motto feasibility to arrange central focus in various states whenever necessary.
  • The commission inspects all the regions included under the center-state relationships during disagreements related to taxes or connecting river linkages.
  • It also investigates the rules and responsibilities of the centre, which is to help other states during need. Hence, they have the authority to independently run local institutes and bodies, including the Panchayati Raj.
  • Punchhi Commission reviews the jurisdiction, responsibilities, and major role the centre has to look after, like caste, communal, social violence, or disputes of the inhabitants.

Punchhi Commission Members

The commission requires the following members to properly function and execute the functions and duties assigned to it.

Madan Mohan Punchhi Commission Members
Ex-Chief Justice, Chairman Shri Justice Madan Mohan (Retd.)
Ex-Secretary, Member Shri Dhirendra Singh, Shri Vinod Kumar Duggal
Member Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon
Member Secretary Shri Vijay Shanker, IPS (Retired)
Member (Till his demise in 2008) Amaresh Bagchi

Punchhi Commission Report

The commission of Punchhi presented a report that included 273 recommendations, which were offered in 4 supplementary volumes and 7 volumes under Punchhi Commission reports.

Punchhi Commission Recommendations
Volume 1 Development of Centre-State Links
Volume 2 The leadership of Centre-State Relations and Constitutional Governance
Volume 3 Centre-State Economic Planning and Relations
Volume 4 Regional Independent Governments and Dispersed Governance
Volume 5 Centre-State coordination, Internal Safety, and Criminal Justice
Volume 6 Infrastructure, Environment, and Natural Resources
Volume 7 Public Policy, Socio-Economic Growth, and Right Governance
Volume 1 (Supplementary) Task Force Reports
Volume 2 (Supplementary) Studies for Research
Volume 2A (Supplementary) Studies for Research
Volume 3 (Supplementary) Stakeholders responses
Volume 4 (Supplementary) Local Consultations

Punchhi Commission Recommendations on Centre-State Relations

Punchhi Commission is related to maintaining center-state relationships. Mentioned are a few of the important Punchhi Commission report summaries. The total number of important recommendations the Punchhi Commission issued was 312.

Article 355 and Article 356

The report given by the commission urged that Article 355 and Article 356 of the Indian Constitution must be modified. The aim was to safeguard the interests of states by suppressing the mishandling of the Centre’s power.

  • It was defined that the Centre must only get the disturbed location under its sovereignty during a crisis rather than the entire State.
  • The emergency time duration must be greater than 3 months.

Communal Violence Bill

The Punchhi Commission declared that Communal Violence Bill must be amended. As per the modification, the Centre can use its forces in the State for a short time without the State’s approval. The forces deployment can only occur for 7 days, after which the Centre needs to take post-facto consent from the State.

Concurrent List

The major powers are divided between the State and the Centre through the category of three Concurrent lists existing in the 7th schedule of Indian Constitution. These include

  • Union List (Include subjects of currency, foreign affairs, and defence).
  • State List (Include subjects of agriculture, education, and roadways).
  • Concurrent List (Include subjects of education, wildlife, forests).

National Integration Council

It is referred to as a replacement structure recommended for internal security issues, and this National Council had similar responsibilities.

  • The Integration council is directed to conduct a minimum of one yearly meeting.
  • It is urged that atleast 5 members of the National Integration Council must visit the communally affected site within two days.

Appointments of Chief Ministers from Different States

The Punchhi Commission has instructed the following concerning appointing chief ministers from diverse states.

  • There must be a pre-poll coalition which is called a political party.
  • There must be the right policies to have a valid discretionary of governors’ powers confined to this regard.
  • There should only be some parties after post-poll unions who can merge and become a part of the Government.

Recommendation of Punchhi Commission on Governor Appointment

It was recommended that people employed in politics, even at a local level or in any office, should avoid politics before getting appointed as a governor.

  • A committee is needed to endorse all the governor arrangements.
  • The commission comprises the Home Minister, Prime Minister, Lok Sabha speaker, and some state ministers.
  • The Indian Vice President has the chance to become a committee member.

President Pocket Veto Power

A provision must be created according to the President’s decision to exercise his Pocket Veto Power. It must be conveyed to any respective state within a time frame of six months.

Union’s Agreement-Making Power

As per the recommendations of Punchhi Commission, the union’s deal-making power must be bounded to treaties concerning topics available on the State list.

  • In this procedure, States can express more matters that occur internally.
  • The commission specified that nations must be engaged in formulated treaties following their problems.
  • It will help in the co-existence of different Government levels comfortably.

Punchhi Commission for UPSC Exam

Punchhi Commission topic comes under the Indian Polity and Governance Syllabus. Aspirants should thoroughly understand this topic for the UPSC Exam, as it is a crucial part of the Syllabus.

The preparation for this topic must include covering portions like Punchhi Commission Report, recommendations of Punchhi Commission, and other relevant facts. Hence, IAS Exam aspirants must cover the entire topic of this Commission to score well in the particular section of the exam. Candidates can also refer to Polity Notes for UPSC to avoid neglecting any important topic from where questions can be put up in the Prelims and Mains exam.

Punchhi Commission UPSC Questions

This is an essential topic for the UPSC exam, you can get complete details of the core concepts and fundamentals of the exam. It is advisable for the candidates to refer to the previous year’s papers for revising the concepts. You must practice the UPSC mock test to be able to gain insights into the exam pattern and other details.

Question: In accordance with the recommendations of Justice M.M Punchhi Commission on Centre-State relations, the Governor of State shall possess; [a] No fixed tenure, [b] 3 Years Tenure, [c] 5 Years Tenure

Answer: [c] 5 years tenure

Question: What is the Puncchhi Commission Report related to? [a] Centre-State Relations [b] Fiscal Federalism [c] Electoral Reforms [d] Creation of New States

Answer: Centre-State Relations

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