CHENNAI: The high-level committee headed by former judge of the Supreme Court, Kurian Joseph, constituted to study the Union-state relations will be eliciting views from the public and various sections of the society on issues relating to the relations between the Union and state governments.
“We will circulate a comprehensive questionnaire among elected representatives, civil servants, judges, advocates, academics and other sections of the society to elicit their views on issues relating to Union-state relations,” said Ashok Vardhan Shetty, former vice-chancellor of the Indian Maritime University and one of the members of the committee.
He said the questionnaire will be circulated through three modes — online, email and by post.
Professor M Naganathan, former vice-chairman, State Planning Commission, is another member of the committee, which has been requested to give its interim report to the government by the end of January 2026 and final report, both in English and Tamil, within two years from the date of its assumption.
Shetty told TNIE that the committee would start functioning from June 1 at the State Guest House in Chepauk. Explaining the committee’s terms of reference, Shetty said the committee will study the past reports about Union-state relations, judgments of the Supreme Court on this subject during the past 75 years, and what all systems are being practised by other federal countries, including the US, Germany and Belgium.
“Besides, the committee will also study the debates of the Constituent Assembly to know what the scholars then spoke about subjects like official language and others. We will also take into account how other countries have dealt with language issue. In a nutshell, we will take a comprehensive look at the best practices adopted in the international arena,” he said.
The committee will also study the history of the country after Independence and examine the steps taken to address language and other issues.
“After studying all these, we will come up with our own recommendations that people can refer to for the next five decades,” he added.
Chief Minister M K Stalin had announced the constitution of this committee in the state Assembly on April 15. The committee will suggest ways to restore subjects transferred from the State List to the Concurrent List over time and recommend how states could function with maximum autonomy in the administrative departments, assemblies and judicial branches, without compromising the unity and integrity of the country, the CM had said, adding that it will also suggest measures needed to address the challenges faced by states in delivering good governance.