Cooperative federalism is as much an executive practice as a constitutional principle. Comment.

Q. Cooperative federalism is as much an executive practice as a constitutional principle. Comment. (15 marks, 250 words)

Cooperative federalism denotes Union and States working as partners rather than rivals. While the Constitution embeds this spirit through institutions and provisions, its real momentum today flows from executive-led negotiation and agreements. It is therefore a lived administrative practice as much as a textual principle.

As a constitutional principle - Article 263 empowers the President to constitute an Inter-State Council to investigate and advise on inter-state disputes and coordinate policy [1]. - The Seventh Schedule's Concurrent List, Article 246, and all-India services build in shared governance. - Fiscal instruments — Finance Commission transfers and GST Council (Art. 279A) — institutionalise revenue partnership.

As an executive practice - The 2026 Assam–Nagaland tripartite MoU for mineral oil operations, with joint administration and 50:50 revenue sharing, unlocked a decades-frozen belt without settling the boundary — a pragmatic executive workaround [2]. - The Assam–Meghalaya boundary agreement (2022), brokered by the Union, resolved 6 of 12 disputed sectors through negotiation, not litigation [3]. - Royalty-sharing arrangements, where PSUs pay states for resource extraction, show cooperation operationalised administratively [4].

Such deals rest on political will and inter-governmental trust, but their ad-hoc, personality-driven nature also risks bypassing institutional forums like a sparingly-convened Inter-State Council.

Cooperative federalism thus lives on two planes — a constitutional scaffold and an executive engine, with the latter increasingly decisive in the Northeast. Strengthening it demands regularising the Inter-State Council so executive bargains rest on durable institutional foundations, advancing the constitutional vision of a Union of States working in concert.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. Inter-State Council (Article 263), Government of India — constitutional mechanism for inter-state cooperation and dispute resolution 2. Tripartite MoU between Government of India, Assam and Nagaland for mineral oil operations, PIB (2026) — executive agreement, joint administration and revenue sharing 3. Assam–Meghalaya inter-state border agreement signed in presence of HM Amit Shah, PIB (2022) — Union-brokered boundary settlement of 6 of 12 sectors 4. OIL and ONGC pay differential royalty to State of Assam, PIB — administrative royalty-sharing with states