In the backdrop of the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will on Friday hold consultations along with chief ministers on the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission. The panel’s recommendations were recently cited by the BJP to justify Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite B S Yeddyurappa to form the government. On the Governor’s role, the commission recommended that the political party or combination of parties which commands the widest support in the Legislative Assembly should be called upon to form government. Besides Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, who are part of the Standing Committee, are likely to attend the meeting. The suggestions of the Standing Committee, comprising Chief Ministers, will then be placed before the Inter-State Council (ISC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said. Among the issues to be taken up will be recommendations related to “public policy, good governance, socio-economic development, natural resources and infrastructure”. “A number of important State-to-State and Centre-State issues are likely to be resolved during the meeting. In 2015, 82 such issues were resolved,” a senior government official said, adding that issues related to environment, particularly due to the recent dust storm and upcoming heatwaves, will also be taken up. The commission, headed by former Chief Justice of India Madan Mohan Punchhi, was set up in 2007 to study Centre-State relations. It submitted its report, containing 273 recommendations in 7 volumes, in 2010. The commission made recommendations on how governance and Centre-State relations need to be organised to improve the quality of public services and promote inclusive development. On good governance, it observed that the “task has become more difficult as there is growing political mobilisation around sectarian and regional interests, people are disillusioned with the lack of integrity among the bureaucracy and growing incidence of waste of public funds, delays and inefficiency”.
