Inter-State Relations — Articles 262-263, River Water Disputes, Zonal Councils, Full Faith Clause

Inter-state relations are governed by Part XI (Chapter II) and other provisions of the Indian Constitution. This topic covers disputes between states, cooperative mechanisms, and coordination bodies — a frequent PSC exam area.

Constitutional Framework

Article	Subject
Art. 131	Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction in disputes between states or between Centre and states
Art. 262	Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers
Art. 263	Establishment of Inter-State Council
Art. 301-307	Freedom of trade, commerce, and intercourse within India
Art. 261	Full faith and credit clause
Art. 307	Authority to appoint for carrying out Art. 301-304

Article 261: Full Faith and Credit Clause

Aspect	Detail
Provision	Full faith and credit shall be given throughout India to public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the Union and every state
Final judgments	Civil court judgments from one state are enforceable in any other state
Inspired by	US Constitution (Article IV, Section 1)
Significance	Ensures legal unity across states

Article 262: Inter-State River Water Disputes

Aspect	Detail
Clause 1	Parliament may by law provide for adjudication of any dispute with respect to use, distribution, or control of waters of any inter-state river or river valley
Clause 2	Parliament may provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction over such disputes
Implementing Act	Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (amended 2002)

Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956

Feature	Detail
Who constitutes tribunal	Central Government
When	If a state requests and negotiation fails
Composition	Chairman + 2 members (all must be/have been SC judges)
Decision	Binding on parties (same force as SC order)
Court jurisdiction	Barred (Art. 262(2)) — no appeal to SC
Time limit	3 years + 2 years extension (2002 amendment)

Major River Water Disputes Tribunals

Tribunal	Year	States Involved	River
Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-I	1969	Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh	Krishna
Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II	2004	Same + Telangana (after bifurcation)	Krishna
Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal	1969	Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka, MP, Odisha	Godavari
Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal	1969	MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan	Narmada
Ravi and Beas Tribunal	1986	Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan	Ravi, Beas
Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal	1990	Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry	Cauvery
Vansadhara Tribunal	2010	Odisha, Andhra Pradesh	Vansadhara
Mahadayi Tribunal	2010	Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra	Mahadayi/Mandovi

Kerala Connection: Kerala is a party to the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (as an upper riparian state) and the Mullaperiyar Dam dispute with Tamil Nadu (decided by Supreme Court, not a tribunal).

Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019

Proposed Change	Detail
Single permanent tribunal	Replace multiple ad hoc tribunals with one permanent Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) + Tribunal
DRC	First attempt at dispute resolution within 1.5 years
Tribunal benches	Permanent tribunal with benches for each dispute
Time limit	DRC: 1.5 years; Tribunal: 2 years + 1 year extension
Data agency	National Water Data Agency to maintain data

Article 263: Inter-State Council

Aspect	Detail
Established by	President of India
Purpose	Investigation and discussion of subjects of common interest; recommendations for coordination
Constitutional basis	Article 263
First established	1990 (on recommendation of Sarkaria Commission, 1983)
Chairperson	Prime Minister
Members	Chief Ministers of all states, CMs of UTs with legislature, Administrators of UTs, 6 Union Ministers (PM’s choice), Governor of state under President’s Rule
Standing Committee	Chaired by Union Home Minister
Secretary	Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat

Functions of Inter-State Council

1. Inquire into and advise on disputes between states
2. Investigate subjects of common interest to Centre and states
3. Make recommendations for better coordination of policy and action

Note: The Inter-State Council is an advisory body — its recommendations are not binding.

Sarkaria Commission (1983-88)

Aspect	Detail
Appointed by	Central Government (1983)
Chairman	Justice R.S. Sarkaria
Subject	Centre-State relations
Key recommendation	Establish Inter-State Council under Art. 263 (implemented in 1990)
Other recommendations	Governor should be non-political, Art. 356 used sparingly, Rajya Sabha should not be dissolved

Punchhi Commission (2007-10)

Aspect	Detail
Chairman	Justice M.M. Punchhi
Subject	Centre-State relations (second commission after Sarkaria)
Key recommendations	Governor’s term of 5 years, localise Emergency to districts, strengthen Inter-State Council

Zonal Councils

Aspect	Detail
Established under	States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (not constitutional — statutory body)
Purpose	Promote cooperation among states in each zone
Established by	Act of Parliament (not President under Art. 263)
Number	5 + 1 (North Eastern Council)

Five Zonal Councils

Zone	Headquarters	States
Northern	New Delhi	J and K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh
Central	Allahabad	UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand
Eastern	Kolkata	Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Sikkim
Western	Mumbai	Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Southern	Chennai	AP, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry

Kerala is part of the Southern Zonal Council (HQ: Chennai).

North Eastern Council (NEC)

Aspect	Detail
Established under	North Eastern Council Act, 1971 (separate from 5 Zonal Councils)
Members	8 NE states (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim)
Sikkim added	2002
Chairman	Union Home Minister (after 2018 amendment)

Composition of Zonal Councils

Position	Who
Chairman	Union Home Minister (for all 5 councils)
Vice-Chairman	Chief Ministers of member states (by rotation, each for 1 year)
Members	Chief Ministers + 2 Ministers from each state
Advisors	NITI Aayog member, Chief Secretaries

Inter-State Trade and Commerce (Art. 301-307)

Article	Provision
Art. 301	Trade, commerce, and intercourse throughout India shall be free
Art. 302	Parliament may impose restrictions in public interest
Art. 303	Neither Parliament nor State Legislature shall discriminate between states
Art. 304	State Legislature can impose reasonable restrictions (with President’s assent)
Art. 305	Saving of existing laws imposing taxes on imports from other states
Art. 307	Parliament may appoint an authority to carry out purposes of Art. 301-304

Inter-State Migration and Disputes

Issue	Constitutional/Legal Provision
Freedom of movement	Art. 19(1)(d) — right to move freely throughout India
Freedom of residence	Art. 19(1)(e) — right to reside and settle in any part of India
Boundary disputes	Art. 3 — Parliament can alter boundaries (with state legislature opinion)
Interstate boundary commissions	Various commissions (Fazl Ali, Mahajan) for border disputes

Frequently Asked PSC Questions

Q1. Under which Article can Parliament provide for adjudication of inter-state river water disputes? Ans: Article 262

Q2. Who is the Chairman of the Inter-State Council? Ans: Prime Minister

Q3. Zonal Councils are established under which Act? Ans: States Reorganisation Act, 1956

Q4. Who is the Chairman of all Zonal Councils? Ans: Union Home Minister

Q5. Which commission recommended the establishment of the Inter-State Council? Ans: Sarkaria Commission (1983-88)

Q6. How many Zonal Councils are there in India? Ans: 5 (plus North Eastern Council)

Q7. Kerala belongs to which Zonal Council? Ans: Southern Zonal Council (HQ: Chennai)

Q8. Under which Article is the Inter-State Council established? Ans: Article 263

Q9. Can the Supreme Court hear inter-state river water disputes? Ans: Parliament can bar SC jurisdiction under Article 262(2)

Q10. Which tribunal deals with Cauvery water dispute? Ans: Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (constituted 1990)

Related Notes

Hub: Indian Polity — Complete Guide for Kerala PSC

More on Federal Structure:

• Centre State Relations
• Special Provisions