Daily Current Affairs

The extra-constitutional delusions of Raj Bhavan (GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

Context:

• Recently, the Governor of Kerala sent a letter to the Kerala Chief Minister asking him to act against the State Finance Minister, who, according to the Governor, had “ceased to enjoy” the Governor’s “pleasure”.  The Chief Minister declined to do so.

Ousting Vice-Chancellors of Universities:

• The Governor’s other move, in the meantime, for ousting Vice-Chancellors of universities in the State, alleging deficits in their appointment process, is purported to be in exercise of his statutory power as Chancellor.
• As against the Ministers, he has no such special power. He can only act within the bounds of the Constitution.

 

Constitutional position of Governor:

• The function of the appointed Governor is always subject to the policies of the elected government, and not vice-versa. This is a foundational theory of India’s constitutional democracy. Constitutional provisions cannot be read in isolation.
• Article 163(1) says that the Council of Ministers must aid and advise the Governor. However, according to Article 163(2), the Governor can act in his discretion in certain matters as permitted by the Constitution.
• This would mean that the Governor is generally bound by the Cabinet decision except when he has a legitimate right to invoke his discretion, say, for example, in deciding on sanction to prosecute a Cabinet Minister or in his decisions as Administrator of a Union Territory, as per the orders of the President of India, etc.
• Article 164, which contains the provision relevant in the context of the Kerala Governor’s tweet and letter is inseparable from Article 163. Therefore, it follows that unless the Cabinet or the Chief Minister advises the expulsion of a Minister, the Governor cannot cause the exit of a particular Minister by “withdrawing pleasure”.
• The jurist H.M. Seervai gave an explanation about the spirit of Article 163, which, in a way, is a prologue to Article 164(1) dealing with “pleasure”.
• He said, “if Governors have discretion in all matters under Article 163(1), it would be unnecessary to confer on Governors an express power to act in their discretion in a few specified matters (by way of Article 163(2))”.

 

Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab: 

• One finds a democratic reading of Article 164 in the Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab (1974).
• In Shamsher Singh, for the purpose of comparison, the Supreme Court extracted Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s introductory statement made on November 4, 1948 in the Constituent Assembly, which said: “The President of the United States is not bound to accept any advice tendered to him by any of his secretaries. The President of the Indian Union will be generally bound by the advice of his Ministers. He can do nothing contrary to their advice nor can he do anything without their advice. The President of the United States can dismiss any Secretary at any time. The President of the Indian Union has no power to do so, so long as his Ministers command a majority in Parliament”.
• The same principles apply to the Governors as well, since the Union Minister also holds the office “during the pleasure of the President” as in Article 75(2) of the Constitution. “Withdrawal of pleasure”, without advice from the Council of Ministers, as indicated by Raj Bhavan is a misconception.

 

Governor is only a titular head of the State:

• The draft Constitution, prepared by the Constitutional Adviser in October 1947, contained Article 126, according to which, “Governor’s Ministers shall be chosen and summoned by (the Governor) and shall hold office during his pleasure”. This Article, which was made part of the draft of the erstwhile Article 144, was discussed at length in the Constituent Assembly.
• The general discretion with the Governor was taken away, and the Cabinet was given the authority to rule. Amendment to the draft Article 144 moved by B.R. Ambedkar resulted in the present constitutional scheme of Articles 163 and 164.
• The words ‘during pleasure’ were, always understood to mean that the ‘pleasure’ should not continue when the Ministry had lost the confidence of the majority; and the moment the Ministry lost the confidence of the majority, the Governor would use his ‘pleasure’ in dismissing it”.
• Therefore, the Article implies that the Governor is only a titular head of the State and that if the Cabinet has majority, the Governor cannot act against the Cabinet.

 

Colonial legacy:

• The Governor’s office has a colonial origin. The Government of India Act, 1858 created the post of Governor under the supervision of the Governor General.
• The subsequently promulgated Government of India Act, 1935 was enforced with effect from April 1, 1937. Even as per this act, Governors were to act based on the advice of the provincial Government.
• The potential danger that could be posed by continuation of the colonial institution was a matter of concern for the makers of the Constitution. During the deliberations, H.V. Kamath asked if there was any guarantee against abuse of power by the Governor.
• The immediate reaction by P.S. Deshmukh, another prominent member was: “the guarantee…. is the Governor’s wisdom and the wisdom of the authority that will appoint the Governor”.

 

Conclusion:

• In Shamsher Singh case, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer has given the best possible response to the extra-constitutional delusions of the Raj Bhavans: “The omnipotence of the President and of the Governor at State level is…. with the obvious intent that even where express conferment of power or functions is written into the Articles, such business has to be disposed of decisively by the Ministry answerable to the Legislature and, through it, vicariously to the people, thus vindicating our democracy instead of surrendering it to a single summit soul, whose deification is incompatible with the basics of our political architecture....”
• So, the Constitution Bench has to prevail over the Governor’s tweet and letter.

 

C295 aircraft to be manufactured by the Tata-Airbus consortium in India

(GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)

Why in news?

• Recently, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of a C295 aircraft manufacturing plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, of the Tata-Airbus consortium.
• It will manufacture the transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

 

Details:

• It is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. It is also the first time that the C295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe.
• The manufacturing unit will cater to the export of the transport aircraft and for additional orders by the IAF.

 

Where is the C295 produced and by whom?

• The C295 was originally produced by a Spanish aircraft manufacturer named Construccionaes Aeronauticcas SA. This company is now part of Airbus and the aircraft’s manufacturing takes place at Airbus’s plant in Spain.
• In September 2021, India signed a Rs 21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C295 aircraft to replace the IAF’s ageing Avro-748 planes, which entered service in the early 1960s.
• Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years, and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.
• The 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the IAF between September 2023 and August 2025. The first Made-in-India aircraft will be rolled out of the manufacturing facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 will have to be produced by August 2031.
• After the completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to the IAF, Airbus Defence and Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the Government of India.

 

What are the technical specifications of the C295 aircraft?

• The C295MW is a transport aircraft with 5 to 10-tonne capacity and a maximum speed of 480 kmph. It has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo. Short take-off and landing from semi-prepared surfaces are some other features.
• The technical specifications put out by Airbus say that the aircraft has a cabin dimension of 12.7 metres or 41 feet and eight inches.
• The company claims this aircraft has the longest unobstructed cabin in its class which can accommodate 71 seats. The company also claims that C295 can carry more cargo than its competitors with direct off-loading through the rear ramp.

 

Indigenous:

• All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite to be developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
• The indigenous content in the plane will be the highest ever in India, and that 96 per cent of the work that Airbus does in Spain to produce the plane will be done at the manufacturing unit in Vadodara.

 

In which terrains have the C295 operated across the world?

• As per Airbus, the C295 operates in the Brazilian jungles and Columbian mountains in South America, the deserts of Algeria and Jordan in the middle east and the cold climates of Poland and Finland in Europe.
• The aircraft has also flown in military operations in Chad, Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

What are the roles that the C295 can perform?

• As a tactical transport aircraft, the C295 can carry troops and logistical supplies from main airfields to forward operating airfields of the country.
• It can also operate on short unprepared airstrips as it is capable of Short Take-off and Landing (STOL).
• It can operate from short airstrips just 2,200 feet long and can fly low-level operations for tactical missions flying at a low speed of 110 knots.
• The aircraft can additionally be used for casualty or medical evacuation, performing special missions, disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

Powered by integration

(GS Paper 3, Economy)

Context:

• India’s cities lag on the quality-of-life metrics compared to international cities.
• A recent research titled ‘Sustainable Urban Networks for Dynamic and Resilient (SUNDAR)’ India identifies key constraints and opportunities to transform cities into engines of economic growth while enhancing sustainability.

Indices on Indian cities:

• The Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking (2019) ranks Hyderabad at the top among Indian cities, with a global rank of 143. It is followed by Pune at 144, Chennai at 151, Mumbai at 154, Kolkata at 160 and New Delhi at 162.
• The Ease of Living analysis by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) revealed a national average score of 53.5 (out of 100) for 111 smart cities.
• The relative underperformance of cities drags down the economic and social outcomes by imposing higher cost of living on individuals, families, society, and businesses.

 

Key Constraints:

1. A key constraint is the low provision of infrastructure and poor quality of utility services across cities. The findings of the MoHUA’s Swachh Survekshan 2022 are illustrative.

• Less than a third of 4,500 cities have connected at least 80% of their toilets to sewerage.
• Less than a fourth process 80% of wet and dry waste.
• Other reports point to mediocre performance on public transport (63 out of 458 cities with one lakh population have a formal bus service), treated piped water (less than two-third of urban households) and electricity (global rank of 80 out of 137).

1. Second, the disconnect between the current quality of utility/other services and customer expectation is stark. Most customers therefore rely on backups to cope with unreliable and poor quality.
2. Third, urban planning and infrastructure delivery are not integrated. This results in avoidable costs and inconvenience. Fractured mandates across multiple agencies, lack of coordination and short-term “bandage approach” leads to suboptimal outcomes.
3. Fourth, many services, including electricity, are delivered by state-level entities and therefore local governments have a limited role. They often view state agencies as entities with limited interest in city priorities.
4. Fifth, infrastructure development follows habitation with the consequent burden of living through ongoing construction of roads, pipelines, and bridges.
5. Sixth, resource and energy conservation is not emphasised. Therefore, significant opportunities for conserving resources exist, such as water harvesting, recycling of construction and demolition waste, and proactive development of decentralised options.

 

What needs to be done?

• Enhancing infrastructure development and improving quality of services will require an integrated approach across sectors.
• While full-scale integration of departments or organisations may be challenging, integration of utility services in urban planning can be achieved through a combination of policy, technology, and administrative measures.

 

Comprehensive approach:

• On the policy side, a mandate for integrated urban planning to development agencies, urban local bodies, and utilities such as transport, electricity, gas supply, water, waste management, etc, can facilitate a strategic and coordinated approach.
• Some states have attempted this by creating a regional planning or development authority such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in Mumbai and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority in Bengaluru.
• A more comprehensive approach encompassing sectors such as electricity, telecom, public transport, and natural gas should however be attempted.
• The master planning needs to go beyond the narrow focus on land use and development control regulations to ensure that utilities are planned, land is allocated, and infrastructure developed, ahead of habitation. Most importantly, urban plans need to detail the mechanisms and instruments to finance urban infrastructure.

 

Underground utility systems:

• Technology convergence across electricity, telecom, gas, and transport presents newer opportunities for enhancing integration to improve quality of life, reduce cost and enhance sustainability.
• One such option is underground utility systems that are gaining global popularity. Power distribution or metro rail or gas distribution can be the focal points for developing an integrated underground utility system.
• High distribution losses present a strong case for underground power distribution. They also reduce accidents, improve quality and are aesthetically pleasing. Given the higher capital cost, adoption can start with cities with high losses, followed by towns and peri-urban areas.
• Kolkata and Mumbai traditionally had a part of their network underground with consequent better quality and are now considering expansion.
• The overall beneficial case for the underground distribution networks was recognised by the Parliament’s Seventeenth Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Energy.

 

Way Forward:

• The plumbing for urban planning requires an overhaul. There is need to fill the vacant positions of urban planner, bring in cross-sectoral experts, develop formal structures such as empowered committees and build capacity of institutions involved.
• More elaborate options such as broadening and deepening the mandate of the urban local bodies, consistent with the 74th constitutional amendment, can also be explored, wherever political will exists. Given that the states and cities have varying needs, different options can be exercised, depending on the context.
• At the central level, an enabling policy detailing options and a broad roadmap, with fiscal incentives, can be proposed to guide and encourage adoption. Integrated infrastructure and enhanced urban planning will make our cities more livable.