The Constitution does not specify the size of the state council of ministers or the ranking of ministers. They are determined by the chief minister according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of the situation.
Like at the Centre, in the states too, the council of ministers consists of three categories of ministers, namely, cabinet ministers, ministers of state, and deputy ministers. The difference between them lies in their respective ranks, emoluments, and political importance.
At the top of all these ministers stands the chief minister—supreme governing authority in the state.
The cabinet ministers head the important departments of the state government like home, education, finance, agriculture and so forth (The term ‘ministry’ or ‘ministries’ is used only in the centre and not in the states. In other words, the state government is divided into departments and not ministries.). They are members of the cabinet, attend its meetings and play an important role in deciding policies. Thus, their responsibilities extend over the entire gamut of state government.
The ministers of state can either be given independent charge of departments or can be attached to cabinet ministers. However, they are not members of the cabinet and do not attend the cabinet meetings unless specially invited when something related to their departments are considered by the cabinet.
Next in rank are the deputy ministers. They are not given independent charge of departments. They are attached to the cabinet ministers and assist them in their administrative, political and parliamentary duties. They are not members of the cabinet and do not attend cabinet meetings.
At times, the council of ministers may also include a deputy chief minister. Thus, Andhra Pradesh had the office of deputy chief minister till 1956. This post was created in West Bengal in 1967. More recently, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have created this office. The deputy chief ministers are appointed mostly for local political reasons.
CABINET
A smaller body called cabinet is the nucleus of the council of ministers. It consists of only the cabinet ministers. It is the real centre of authority in the state government.
It performs the following role:
1. It is the highest decision making authority in the politico-administrative system of a state.
2. It is the chief policy formulating body of the state government.
3. It is the supreme executive authority of the state government.
4. It is the chief coordinator of state administration.
5. It is an advisory body to the governor.
6. It is the chief crisis manager and thus deals with all emergency situations.
7. It deals with all major legislative and financial matters.
8. It exercises control over higher appointments like constitutional authorities and senior secretariat administrators.
Cabinet Committees
The cabinet works through various committees called cabinet committees.
They are of two types— standing and adhoc. The former are of a permanent nature while the latter are of a temporary nature.
They are set up by the chief minister according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of the situation. Hence, their number, nomenclature and composition varies from time to time. They not only sort out issues and formulate proposals for the consideration of the cabinet but also take decisions. However, the cabinet can review their decisions.
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