Novel Corona has been showing no nobility, forcing us to stay home under lockdown, which is also a novel term in our national life. Lockdown 2.0 has been going on and the version 3.0 has been announced from May 4 to May 17. Of course, this time the lockdown is not blanket but graded in three zones of red, orange and green zones of all districts allowing graded economic activities considering our fragile economy and enormous unorganised labour force. So we are trading off between lives and livelihoods through a dynamic equilibrium considering human, social and economic costs of the lockdown.
This is the first time a national lockdown has been imposed in India as per the Disaster Management Act, 2005 along with Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 by different state governments, now amended vide an ordinance to protect medical practitioners and professionals. This lockdown has been rightly termed as 'social emergency' by PM Modi Ji. But, why is this emergency 'social'? Because, it is imposed neither for financial stability as per Article 360 nor for war, external aggression or armed rebellion as per Article 352. Even this lockdown is not due to Articles 355 and 356 applicable to individual states. So this lockdown emergency is not comparable to emergency provisions as per the Constitution of India. But, it is much more profound in its coverage and effects in totality not only nationally but also internationally. That is why we must attempt to analyse this social emergency critically.
India acts constitutionally as a federal state in normal situations, but unites as a unitary state in emergency time. But the moot question is: how far India is acting like a unitary state this time? How far are the Centre and different states and states among themselves acting jointly as a unitary state? How far is cooperative federalism effective in this lockdown?
If we go through the seventh schedule as per Article 246 of our Constitution, it is amply clear that the necessary legal framework for fulfilment of the basic necessities like food, cloth, housing, health, education etc of the people lies with the states. The law and order, public health, hospitals, land, agriculture, irrigation, cooperatives, markets, public distribution, local self-governments of panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations etc are in the State list. Again, forest, education, price control, electricity, social security, economic and social planning, population control etc have been in the Concurrent list. So it is clear that the states and the local authorities under their control are primarily endowed with power and responsibilities to cater to meet the demands of people to lead a normal and healthy life.
Here the pertinent question arises: how far are these institutions managing Covid-19 pandemic efficiently and effectively state wise in a scattered way? Let us discuss a few burning issues.
Undoubtedly the migrant labourers stranded in different states are the lot most hard hit socially, economically and emotionally by this nation-wide lockdown. Migrant labourers have been the missing link in our economy and their size is estimated to be 4-5 crores nationally. It was not feasible to take them all back home before the lockdown as the lockdown was imminent to be effected to counter community spread of coronavirus. That is why all state governments are duty bound to look after migrant labourers and other stranded people in their states during this social emergency.
But what we are noticing from the media is mismanagement of these stranded labourers and their desperation to go back home at any cost jeopardising the very purpose of the lockdown. Why can't they be given adequate food, shelters and a small amount of cash money along with temporary ration cards? Why can't they be provided a single Aadhaar card-based national ration card under 'One Nation, One Ration Card' afterwards? Why aren't they being protected socially and economically under the Inter-State Migrants Workers Act, 1979? Even these workers can't vote under the present election system. They are a genuinely deprived section of our society. In the name of federalism, they are being continuously deprived of their basic necessities. This lockdown has now exposed our national apathy and insensitivity towards migrant labourers. Now the authorities have been arranging for safe home-coming of stranded migrant workers and others to their respective states by trains and buses.
Next is the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ration system under the state jurisdiction. The Central government as well as different state governments have already announced the distribution of food grains under different schemes, and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Indian Railways have been arranging for supply of food grains to all states. But there remains a lack of coordination between the Centre and the states, whatever be the reasons - political or otherwise, in supply and distribution chain management, and ultimately the people have been suffering due to mismanagement and corruption in the rationing system. National lockdown has also pinpointed to irregularities, mismanagement and limitations of the present PDS in India.
The Corona pandemic has hit our health system so badly. It is no denying the fact that the world hasn't seen such an infectious virus before. We now live in a 'Global Village' and corona has reached every corner of the village. No country can build health infrastructure so large enough to counter such an infectious disease. So lockdown is the primary preventive measure to check the spread of virus infection. But the Covid-19 has also exposed the cracky conditions of our health system. We already know that public health and hygiene, and dispensaries and hospitals are under the state jurisdiction. The health infrastructures in different states are so different and the coordination between the Centre and states are so lacking that the corona pandemic has been causing a see-saw game in use, analysis and statistics of Corona Kits, PPEs, death counts and health related issues and materials.
This pandemic also poses law and order issues which are state subjects. The police have been doing a commendable service in maintaining law and order as well as managing humanitarian services to the needy along with many NGOs. But a small section of people has not only been defying lockdown measures but also attacking corona warriors and ostracising medical professionals and other essential service providers like banking professionals. The Centre is ready to provide para-military force to tackle the problem, but the states are guarded to use it.
Taking into account all these factors and contextuality, the necessity of centrally decentralized administrative set up has come up in this social emergency time. The Centre may take few steps as per the D M Act, 2005; but it can't go beyond the present constitutional framework with respect to emergency provisions. So, there is probably no legal way to institutionalise a 'national administration' on the principle of centralised decentralisation during such emergency situations.
In this backdrop we have to strategize the ways to be adopted to meet the basic necessities of the people as a fundamental duty of a welfare state in future emergent times. Our citizenship is unitary, not dual as in a federal country and we are citizens of India, not of any state. India is not a 'united', but a 'union' state - a union of people of India who are 'residents' of different states, the states not being originally constituting parts of the Republic of India. Actually the Indian Parliament can create, abolish, alter and/or merge one or more states as per the constitutional provisions.
From this perspective, we have to build our Republic on the principles of centrally decentralised unified federalism and build so many administrative structures on the basis of unified systemization so that the people are served without the potential conflict between the Centre and the states on jurisdictional grounds. We have to chalk out appropriate templates considering the subject of economic and social planning in the Concurrent list to effect the grand unified systemization to uphold the fundamental rights of the people of India that is Bharat.
@ Sujit Roy
02.05.2020
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