Full implementation of 13 - A

A response to Neville Ladduwahetty

President J.RJayewardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signing
the Indo-Lankla agreement
by Dr. K. igneswaran-July 27, 2014
!he Island o" Monday# $ J%ne &'() *%blished a
+ommentary by Mr. ,eville Ladd%wahetty on India-s .all to the /ri Lankan
Government "or 01%ll Im*lementation- o" the (2th 3mendment. !his arti.le
is in res*onse to that +ommentary.
Mr. Ladd%wahetty 4,L5 hereina"ter6 asserts that India was intimately
involved in the a.t%al dra"ting o" the (2th 3mendment. 5ad it been the
.ase there wo%ld have been similarity in the Lists o" devol%tion and there
wo%ld have been no Provin.ial +o%n.ils 3.t. 5is assertion that 7the s.o*e#
e8tent and even the wording in the (2th 3mendment is near identi.al to
that in the Indian +onstit%tion-s 3rti.le (92 onwards7 is s%bje.t to
.orre.tion. 3ltho%gh the wording in .ertain se.tions o" the (2th
3mendment is near identi.al to that in the Indian +onstit%tion# its s.o*e
and e8tent have been deliberately %ndermined by e8.l%ding s%bje.ts s%.h
as *rovin.ial "inan.e and the *rovin.ial *%bli. servi.e# and relegating them
to a se*arate Provin.ial +o%n.ils 3.t.
,L5 .om*ares the o""i.es o" the Presidents o" India and /ri Lanka and o"
the Governors in both .o%ntries. 5e says# :%oting 3rti.le 92 o" the Indian
+onstit%tion# that all e8e.%tive *owers in India are vested in the President
who is the 5ead o" /tate and in the Governors o" the /tates# and in /ri
Lanka all e8e.%tive *owers are vested in the ;8e.%tive President and the
Governors o" the Provin.es. !his is an oversim*li"i.ation o" vo.ab%lary.
3rti.le 92 sho%ld be read along with 3rti.le <) o" the Indian +onstit%tion
=nly then does the Prime Minister be.ome the 5ead o" the Government o"
India. In /ri Lanka# an ;8e.%tive President is both 5ead o" /tate and 5ead
o" Government. President Raja*aksa met the Indian Prime Minister as the
5ead o" the Government o" /ri Lanka.
R;+3PI!>L3!I=, =1 R;+;,! 5I/!=R?
1ollowing the massa.re o" tho%sands o" !amils in a well *lanned *ogrom in
($@2# and the dis*ersal o" tho%sands o" !amils to .o%ntries aro%nd the
Globe# the ethni. *roblem that remained hitherto an internal matter "or /ri
Lanka be.ame internationaliAed.
Bhen !amil re"%gees started *o%ring into India# the Government o" Indira
Gandhi sent emissaries to work o%t a reasonable *oliti.al sol%tion to o%r
*roblem. 3"ter the assassination o" Indira Gandhi# Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi s%..eeded in getting President Jayewardene sign the Indo /ri
Lanka 3greement o" J%ly ($@<.
1or some in.om*rehensible reason# President Jayewardene ena.ted the
Provin.ial +o%n.ils 3.t# des.ribed as the enabling 3.t "or the (2th
3mendment. 5ad this 3.t not been ena.ted# b%t the .ontents o" it
in.or*orated in the (2th 3mendment# most o" the .onstit%tional *roblems
that we "a.e today wo%ld not have arisen.
J>DI+I3L 3,D L;GI/L3!I; P=B;R/
J%di.ial PowersC
In /ri Lanka# j%di.ial *owers have not been devolved to the Provin.es. In
India# the /tates have *owers with regard to s%bordinate .o%rts.
Legislative PowersC
>nder the (2th 3mendment# the *ro.ed%res "or ena.ting stat%tes on
s%bje.ts in the Provin.ial and +on.%rrent Lists are similar to the
*ro.ed%res in India. D%t the stat%tes on s%bje.ts in both the Lists have a
more im*ortant re:%irement sti*%lated by se.tion &) o" the Provin.ial
+o%n.ils 3.t. !he re.ommendation o" the Governor has to be obtained
*rior to *la.ing the stat%tes be"ore the Provin.ial +o%n.ils. !he ;astern
Provin.ial +o%n.il have had more than ten stat%tes# aborted by the
Governor %sing the *rovisions o" se.tion &). !he only .on.l%sion to be
drawn is that the Government was not at all ha**y to see the *assing o"
stat%tes by the ;astern Provin.ial +o%n.il.
LI/!/ =1 D;=L>!I=, I, I,DI3
3,D /RI L3,K3
!here are 2< items in the Provin.ial List o" /ri Lanka whereas there are E(
items in the /tates List o" India. !he +on.%rrent List o" /ri Lanka has 2E
items whereas the +on.%rrent List o" India has 9( items. Bhere is the
similarityF
Lo.al Government
In India# a /tate has .om*lete *owers over lo.al government whereas in
/ri Lanka# the Provin.es have no *owers in res*e.t o" the .onstit%tion o"
lo.al a%thorities.
3grarian /ervi.es
!he /%*reme +o%rt o" /ri Lanka had given a determination that the
s%bje.t o" agrarian servi.es was a devolved s%bje.t. ?et# agrarian servi.es
is retained by the +entre# by ena.ting the 3grarian Develo*ment 3.t o"
&'''.
R%ral Develo*ment
R%ral roads# r%ral water s%**ly and r%ral sanitation are "inan.ed and
im*lemented by the Ministry o" ;.onomi. Develo*ment o" the +entre
des*ite r%ral develo*ment being a devolved s%bje.t.
5ealth
=nly tea.hing hos*itals and hos*itals established "or s*e.ial *%r*oses 4e.g.
.an.er hos*ital# .hest hos*ital et.6 sho%ld .ome %nder the *%rview o" the
+entre. D%t the *ra.ti.e over the *ast &' years has been "or the +entre to
take over by e8e.%tive a.tion other hos*itals as national hos*itals.
Land
In India# the s%bje.t o" land is .om*letely devolved to the /tates.
In /ri Lanka# state land is vested in the Re*%bli. and the dis*osition or
alienation o" state land is .overed in 3**endi8 II o" /.hed%le ,ine and
s%bje.t to these sti*%lations# land is a s%bje.t devolved to the Provin.es.
3**endi8 II .learly states that the +entre .annot %tiliAe any state land in a
Provin.e witho%t .ons%lting the Provin.ial +o%n.il. It is .ommon knowledge
that this .ondition has been observed in the brea.h by the +entre#
*arti.%larly# by the Ministry o" De"en.e.
!he (2th 3mendment also re:%ires the a**ointment o" a ,ational Land
>se +ommission and a !e.hni.al /e.retariat. It is the *rerogative o" the
,ational Land >se +ommission to iss%e the ,ational Land >se Poli.y. Bhat
*revents the +entre "rom a**ointing the +ommission and its !e.hni.al
/e.retariatF
Lastly# vario%s instit%tions o" the Government o" /ri Lanka make %se o"
3.ts o" Parliament# to %ndermine the *owers .on"erred on the Provin.ial
+o%n.ils on land. !he Mahaweli 3%thority 3.t is one o" them. >nder the
*rovisions o" that 3.t# two D/ divisions o" the ;astern Provin.e have been
de.lared Mahaweli areas. D%t the Mahaweli Ganga does not "low even
thro%gh one o" these divisionsG
Mines and Minerals
!he Indian /tates .an make their laws# b%t .onsistent with laws made by
Parliament# and are em*owered to reg%late almost all mines and minerals
within the /tate. In /ri Lanka# a Provin.ial +o%n.il .annot make a stat%te
to reg%late mines and mineral develo*ment within the Provin.e# b%t is
em*owered only to im*lement laws made by Parliament. 3 /ri Lankan
Provin.e .annot even .ontrol :%arrying o" sand or metal or even .lay %sed
"or bri.ks or *ottery.
;le.tri.ity
In India# ;le.tri.ity is a .on.%rrent s%bje.t. 3 /tate generates ele.tri.ity#
transmits and s%**lies it to the .ons%mers. =nly ele.tri.ity *rod%.ed by
n%.lear *ower *lants is .ontrolled by the +entre.
In /ri Lanka# ele.tri.ity a**ears as items in both the Provin.ial and
+on.%rrent Lists. 3 genero%s inter*retation o" both these *rovisions wo%ld
mean that the /ri Lanka ;le.tri.ity Doard sho%ld .ontrol all hydro-*ower
stations# generate ele.tri.ity to energise the national grid and leave it to
the Provin.es to s%**ly ele.tri.ity to the .ons%mers. D%t what ha**ens in
*ra.ti.eF
Reven%e
!he Provin.es were em*owered to .olle.t t%rnover ta8es on wholesale and
retail sales within s%.h limits and s%bje.t to s%.h e8em*tions as may be
*res.ribed by Parliament. !%rnover ta8es were being .olle.ted by all the
Provin.es e8.e*t the ,orth till &'((. =" a s%dden# thro%gh the ,ational
D%dget "or &'(& *assed by Parliament# a bar was *la.ed on the .olle.tion
o" these ta8es.
>rban Develo*ment
In the (2th 3mendment# %rban develo*ment is a .on.%rrent s%bje.t. !he
+entre has made amendments to the >rban Develo*ment 3%thority Law
and taken over restho%ses managed by lo.al a%thorities and even bro%ght
7rainwater harvesting7 %nder the +entre .
Bater /%**ly and Drainage
7Bater s%**ly and drainage7 does not a**ear in any o" the Lists o" the
(2th 3mendment. 5en.e by de"a%lt# the s%bje.t o" water s%**ly and
drainage is deemed to be a s%bje.t reserved "or the +entreG 3 Provin.ial
+o%n.il does not have *ower over drinking water to its own *o*%la.e.
1isheries
>nder the Indian +onstit%tion# 71isheries7 is a /tate s%bje.t while 71ishing
and "isheries beyond territorial waters7 is a >nion s%bje.t.
In /ri Lanka# 71isheries other than "ishing beyond territorial waters7 is a
.on.%rrent s%bje.t. In *ra.ti.e however# a Provin.e .an e8er.ise *owers
over "resh water "ishing in irrigation tanksG
1orests and Prote.tion o" wild animals and birds
In India# 7"orests7 and 7wild animals and birds7 are two .on.%rrent
s%bje.ts. Doth the +entre and the /tates .an e8er.ise *owers on both
s%bje.ts
In /ri Lanka# 7/o.ial "orestry and *rote.tion o" wild animals and birds7 is a
single .on.%rrent s%bje.t. D%t#71orests7 is not a devolved s%bje.t. 5ow
then .o%ld a Provin.e e8er.ise a%thority over wild animals and birdsF
P%bli. /ervi.e
In India# 7/tate P%bli. /ervi.eH /tate P%bli. /ervi.e +ommission7are
s%bje.ts "or the /tates. !here is no similar entry in the Provin.ial List o" /ri
Lanka. !he s%bje.ts are relegated to the Provin.ial +o%n.ils 3.t. >nder
that 3.t# the Governor e8er.ises absol%te *ower over the *%bli. servi.e in
his own dis.retion e8.e*t the a**ointment o" the +hie" /e.retary. !he
a**ointment# trans"er# dismissal and dis.i*linary .ontrol o" all other o""i.ers
o" a *rovin.ial *%bli. servi.e are vested in the Governor o" the Provin.e.
!he Governor a**oints the members o" the Provin.ial P%bli. /ervi.e
+ommission in his dis.retion. !his Provin.ial P%bli. /ervi.e +ommission is
not inde*endent# b%t is s%bordinate to the Governor.
!he absol%te *ower that the Governor o" a Provin.e wields in res*e.t o"
the *rovin.ial *%bli. servi.e is a major h%rdle in the devol%tion o" *owers
to Provin.es.
Lastly# the Distri.t 3dministration whi.h .onsists o" the Government 3gent#
the Divisional /e.retaries and the Grama ,iladharis is .ontrolled by the
+entre. +an anyone imagine a /tate in India# with the +olle.tor# the /%b-
+olle.tors and the !ahsildars o" a Distri.t being .ontrolled by ,ew DelhiF
1inan.e
Provisions relating to /tate 1inan.e are *arts o" the Indian +onstit%tion.
!his in.l%des ann%al "inan.ial statement# estimates# a**ro*riation bills#
s%**lementary# additional or e8.ess grants# votes on a..o%nt# s*e.ial
*ro.ed%re "or "inan.ial bills et.. In /ri Lanka# *rovin.ial "inan.e is a matter
%nder the *%rview o" the Governor.
Poli.e Powers
In India# ea.h /tate has its own inde*endent Poli.e 1or.e.
Initially# in ($@$# President Premadasa was ready to hand over *oli.e
*owers to the ,orth-;ast Provin.e. It was the L!!; whi.h *revented him
saying that the *rovin.ial *oli.e wo%ld be "illed with ;PRL1 .adresG
>nder the (2th 3mendment# the *oli.e *owers devolved are limited. !he
DIG o" the Provin.e is a**ointed by the IGP with the .on.%rren.e o" the
+hie" Minister and is s%bje.t to the .ontrol o" the IGP d%ring *eriods o"
emergen.y. 5ow .an s%.h an arrangement adversely a""e.t national or
internal se.%rityF
+=,+L>/I=,
,L5 says that the !amils o" !amil ,ad% are not agitating "or more *owers#
be.a%se they are .ontent with the *owers devolved to the /tates in India.
5e then .ontin%es to assert that the devol%tion o" *owers %nder the (2th
3mendment is near e:%al in s.o*e and e8tent to the devol%tion o" *owers
to the /tates o" India. I" that be so# wo%ld ,L5 %nreservedly agree to
re*la.e the three Lists in the ,inth /.hed%le in the (2th 3mendment with
the three Lists in the /eventh /.hed%le o" the Indian +onstit%tion and to
in.or*orate the .ontents o" the Provin.ial +o%n.ils 3.t in the +onstit%tion
o" /ri Lanka and to re*eal that 3.tF
!he o"t re*eated *hrase 71%ll im*lementation o" the (2th 3mendment7 has
been very im*ortant to the Indian Government ever sin.e that 3mendment
.ame into "or.e. India has always "elt that i" the (2th 3mendment is
im*lemented in "%ll the !amils o" /ri Lanka will begin to have "aith in a
%nited /ri Lanka. =nly then .an the !amil *o*%la.e be veered away "rom
the *ath shown by the L!!; and its .ohorts among the !amil Dias*ora.
/%.h a rationale holds good even today.
41or "%rther details on the s%bje.t# the writer may be .onta.ted thro%gh
k.vigneswaran)(Igmail..om6
Posted by Thavam