Special provisions for certain states

Also called: Articles 371-371J, Article 371, Special provisions for states · Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

Special provisions for certain states are the rules in Articles 371 to 371J of the Constitution that apply to only one state, or to one region inside a state. They give that state arrangements the other states do not get. There are three kinds: development boards and local job and education quotas for backward regions, protection of tribal customs and land, and a smaller minimum size for the assemblies of small states.

They matter because they show asymmetric federalism (the idea that not every state has to be treated in exactly the same way). India uses them to answer regional anger and protect local identity inside the existing state, without redrawing state borders.

Explanation

Where they sit and how they were added

• All of them are in Part XXI of the Constitution ("Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions"), from Art. 371 to Art. 371J.
• None of them was in the original list of states' rights. Parliament added each one later through a constitutional amendment under Art. 368.
• Each amendment needed a special majority in both Houses:
• a majority of the total membership of each House; and
• two-thirds of the members present and voting.

The three kinds

• Regional equity inside a state (Arts. 371, 371D, 371J):
• These help a poorer region inside one state.

• The tools are development boards, a fair share of funds, and local quotas in jobs and education.

• Identity and security (the North-East and Sikkim):

• 371A (Nagaland) and 371G (Mizoram) protect local customs, customary law (traditional community law) and land.
• 371B (Assam) and 371C (Manipur) set up committees of the state assembly for members from tribal or hill areas.
• 371H (Arunachal Pradesh) gives the Governor a role in law and order.

• 371F (Sikkim) covers Sikkim's joining India.

• Minimum assembly size for small states:

• Under Art. 170, a state assembly normally needs at least 60 members.
• These provisions allow fewer members: Sikkim 30, Mizoram 40, Arunachal Pradesh 30, Goa 30.
• Art. 371I (Goa) does only this. It has no board, no quota and no special role for the Governor.

How a regional-equity provision works (Arts. 371 and 371J)

1. Presidential Order: the President gives the Governor a special responsibility. This is a task the Governor must make sure gets done. Normally the Governor acts on the ministers' advice (Art. 163). Under a special responsibility, the Governor still consults the ministers but can use their own judgement.
2. Governor's Order: the Governor sets up the development board or boards.
3. Annual report: each board's report goes before the State Legislative Assembly every year. It does not go to Parliament. - The state legislature does not create the board. The President's Order sets it in motion.

Limits

• The fair share of funds is always "subject to the requirements of the State as a whole", so the state government still decides much of the money.
• Boards depend on Presidential and Governor's Orders, and these orders can lapse. Maharashtra's boards lapsed in 2020 and were later brought back.
• Even a special provision must respect the basic structure (the core features of the Constitution that no amendment can destroy). The P. Sambamurthy case (1987) is the example.

In the Constitution and practice

Article	State	Amendment (year)	Main content
371	Maharashtra, Gujarat	7th (1956)	Development boards
371A	Nagaland	13th (1962)	Naga customs, customary law, land
371B	Assam	22nd (1969)	Assembly committee for tribal-area members
371C	Manipur	27th (1971)	Assembly committee for Hill Area members
371D, 371E	Andhra Pradesh (now also Telangana)	32nd (1973)	Local cadres, local quotas, Administrative Tribunal; central university
371F	Sikkim	36th (1975)	Sikkim joins India; assembly of at least 30
371G	Mizoram	53rd (1986)	Mizo customs and land; assembly of at least 40
371H	Arunachal Pradesh	55th (1986)	Governor's role in law and order; assembly of at least 30
371I	Goa	56th (1987)	Assembly of at least 30
371J	Karnataka	98th (2012)	Board and local quotas for Hyderabad-Karnataka

• Art. 371: Maharashtra and Gujarat
• The 7th Amendment (1956) first made this provision for the old bilingual Bombay State. When the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 split Bombay into Maharashtra and Gujarat, the provision was changed to cover both new states.
• The President may order separate development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra, and for Saurashtra, Kutch and the rest of Gujarat [4][5].
• The President may also order a fair share of development funds and fair arrangements for technical education, vocational training and state jobs [4][5].

• In practice, the President issued an Order in 1994, and on 30 April 1994 the Governor set up the Maharashtra boards. That order was partly changed in 2011 [5]. The boards lapsed in 2020 and were later revived.

• Arts. 371D and 371E: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

• Background: the Mulki rules of old Hyderabad State kept government jobs for local residents. Disputes over these rules led to the Telangana agitation (1969) and the Jai Andhra agitation (1972–73). The Six-Point Formula (1973) replaced the Mulki rules with local preference in every region of the state.
• The 32nd Amendment (1973) gave that formula constitutional backing [6].
• 371D lets the President order:
  • local cadres, where posts are grouped by area so that hiring and transfers stay inside that area;
  • local reservation of jobs and college seats;
  • an Administrative Tribunal (a special body that hears government employees' service disputes in place of regular courts) [6].

• 371E lets Parliament set up a central university in the state by law. This became the University of Hyderabad.

• P. Sambamurthy v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1987)

• Problem: the proviso to Art. 371D(5) let the state government change or cancel the Tribunal's orders [6]. But the government is itself one side in every service dispute.
• Judgment: the Supreme Court struck down this proviso.
• Reason: the Tribunal takes the place of the High Court. If the government can overturn its rulings, it is no longer a real court. That damages judicial review (the power of courts to check whether government action is lawful), which is part of the basic structure.

• Lesson: the Court can strike down even a constitutional amendment if it damages the basic structure.

• Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014

• This Act created Telangana as a separate state [7].

• Section 97 of the Act changed Art. 371D so that it now covers "the State of Andhra Pradesh or the State of Telangana" [7][6].

• Art. 371J: Karnataka

• In March 2012, both Houses of the Karnataka legislature asked for special provisions for the region [3].
• The 118th Amendment Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2012 and by the Rajya Sabha on 19 December 2012 [3]. It became the 98th Amendment Act, 2012 [2].
• It covers six districts: Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir and Ballari [3]. The region was renamed Kalyana-Karnataka in 2019.
• It provides a development board that reports to the Assembly every year, a fair share of funds, and reservation for local people in education and in state jobs in the region [2].

Don't confuse with

• Fifth and Sixth Schedules: these protect Scheduled and Tribal Areas through special rules for administering those areas, wherever they are. The Art. 371 provisions are tied to particular named states.
• Article 370: this was a temporary provision for Jammu and Kashmir, and it was abrogated in 2019. Arts. 371–371J are separate articles, and they still apply.
• Governor's discretion under Art. 163: discretion means acting alone in the few cases the Constitution allows. A special responsibility under Art. 371 or 371J is given by a Presidential Order, and the Governor still consults the ministers before using their own judgement.
• Art. 371 vs Art. 371J: both create development boards. Only 371J clearly provides local reservation in education and state jobs. Art. 371 speaks more broadly of "adequate facilities" and "adequate opportunities".

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 371: Maharashtra and Gujarat. Boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra, and for Saurashtra, Kutch and the rest of Gujarat. Added by the 7th Amendment (1956).
• 32nd Amendment (1973): added Arts. 371D and 371E. 371D(3) covers the Administrative Tribunal, and 371E covers a central university (the University of Hyderabad).
• P. Sambamurthy (1987): struck down the proviso to Art. 371D(5), because letting the state cancel Tribunal orders hurt judicial review.
• Art. 371J: added by the 98th Amendment (2012), which was passed as the 118th Amendment Bill [3]. It covers six Hyderabad-Karnataka districts, renamed Kalyana-Karnataka in 2019.
• Minimum assembly sizes: Sikkim 30, Mizoram 40, Arunachal 30, Goa 30. Mizoram is the odd one out. Art. 371I (Goa) has no board.
• Trap: a board is started by a Presidential Order, not by a state law, and its annual report goes to the State Legislative Assembly, not to Parliament.

Mains Points

• Asymmetric federalism inside a state: Arts. 371, 371D and 371J deal with regional inequality through boards and quotas, without creating new states. The results are mixed:
• Telangana still became a separate state in 2014, after more than 40 years of Art. 371D.
• The demand for a separate Vidarbha state continues.

• This raises a fair question: do these provisions really reduce imbalance between regions, or do they only delay demands for new states?

• Accountability gap and reforms: funds stay "subject to the requirements of the State as a whole", and the orders behind the boards can lapse, as Maharashtra's did in 2020. Possible reforms:

• fix each region's share of funds by law or by a formula, as the Kelkar Committee (2013) studied;
• keep the boards in force without breaks;

• make sure the Assembly debates each annual report on time.

• Rights trade-off: local cadres and local quotas protect backward regions. But they also split the state's job market, and they raise questions of equality under Arts. 14 and 16. Sambamurthy (1987) shows that even special provisions must respect judicial review. In GS-I, the chain from the Mulki agitations to the Six-Point Formula, then Art. 371D, then Telangana statehood shows how a constitutional compromise can absorb a regional movement for a time, before it returns as a demand for statehood.

Related concepts

• Special provisions for Maharashtra and Gujarat
• Special provisions for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
• Special provisions for Karnataka
• Special provisions for Goa

Read more

• Art. 371 series I: regional-equity provisions (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Goa)