Masters of their destiny: How states can engineer far-reaching reforms without central legislative action
Abstract:
In a recent article, i had argued that the new government could reform laws relating to subjects on the Concurrent List of the Constitution by empowering states to amend them. I had suggested that inserting — in each law to be reformed — a clause that empowers states to amend it could do the trick.
A potential problem with this approach, however, is that the insertion of such a clause in the central law itself requires legislative action. And in so far as the new government lacks majority in the Rajya Sabha, this amendment becomes an uphill task.
Two friends — one a senior policymaker and the other a policy analyst with three decades of experience in regulation — have suggested two alternative solutions to this problem. First, the Constitution empowers the president of India to permit states to amend central laws relating to subjects on the Concurrent List. Armed with such permission, state legislatures can pass amendments and turn them into laws applicable to their respective states.
Presidential assent is an executive decision and does not require legislative action. The new government could facilitate this process by adopting a policy of time-bound decisions on proposals for amendments submitted by states.