TN govt scraps Stalin-era panel on Centre-state relations, transfers mandate to state law commission

Chennai: In a significant policy shift, the Tamil Nadu government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has abolished the high-level committee on Union–State relations constituted by the previous DMK government and transferred its responsibilities to the Tamil Nadu State Law Commission.

The decision, formalised through a Government Order, brings an end to the three-member committee established by former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to examine constitutional provisions governing Centre–State relations and recommend measures to strengthen federalism and state autonomy.

The committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, included former IAS officer K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former State Planning Commission Vice-Chairman M. Naganathan. Stalin had announced its formation in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in April 2025, projecting the initiative as an important step towards safeguarding the constitutional rights and administrative powers of the state.

The panel subsequently undertook an extensive examination of constitutional, legal and administrative issues affecting the relationship between the Union government and the state. It submitted the first part of its report to Stalin on February 16, 2026, outlining recommendations concerning federal governance and state autonomy.

However, the Vijay government has now concluded that continuing the committee separately is unnecessary because its responsibilities overlap with those assigned to the State Law Commission.

According to the Government Order, the Law Commission, reconstituted on August 7, 2026, already has a broad mandate covering inter-state and Centre–State relations, examination of existing legislation and improvements to the state’s legal and institutional framework.

The government maintained that retaining two bodies with substantially similar responsibilities would result in duplication of functions. Consequently, it ordered the immediate discontinuation of the high-level committee and entrusted the Law Commission with examining matters relating to Centre–State relations.

Significantly, the order described the dissolved committee as a non-statutory body while justifying the administrative decision. However, the Tamil Nadu State Law Commission itself is also a non-statutory institution established through an executive Government Order rather than legislation.

The latest decision marks a departure from the previous DMK administration’s approach to federal relations, although the government maintains that the subject will continue to receive institutional attention through the Law Commission.