Governors of India

Governor of a state is appointed by the President of India over the recommendation of Prime Minister of India. More than a single state can have common Governor. Normally the term of Governor is five years and a reelection may take place if he dies or resigns from his post. The post of governor in any state is same as that of president at the centre. The real power of the state is in the hands of the chief minister and governor just gives his consent over the action. He does not have any power to take decisions directly in the administration of the state. The administration process of the state is carried out by chief minister along with his council of ministers. The governor may occupy the post for more than a state at the same time. The lieutenant governor of Union Territories and the governor of the states have same powers.
 

Powers of the Governor

Like the president of India, Governor also enjoys a certain level of judicial, Legislative and executive powers. But he or she does not possess any military power like the President. He or she does possess certain discretionary powers.
 

The executive powers of the governor are:

Governor has got the power to appoint the Chief Minister of the state along with his council of ministers, members of the State Public Service Commission and the Advocate General. The Advocate General and council of ministers can be removed by the Governor but the members of the State Public Service Commission can only be removed by the President.
The President of India consults Governor before appointing the judges of the High Court.
The judges of the District Court are appointed by the Governor.
 
If the Governor feels that the number of people representing the Anglo-Indian community in the Vidhan Sabha is less then he or she can nominate a member of the community to the state Legislature.

In the states with bicameral Legislature, Governor has got powers to nominate members to the Legislative Council who have got immense knowledge or experience in the field of art, science, social service, etc.
 

Legislative Powers of the Governor are:

• Being the part of State Legislature, Governor has got the right of addressing and dissolving the Legislature, sending messages, summoning the Legislature, etc. same as President has rights in the Parliament. Even though he or she has these powers, but he or she need to take advice of the Chief minister and his Council of Ministers before taking any action.
• Governor of the state inaugurates the state Legislature every year by addressing the first session of the House.
• Governor demands grants and Money Bills by presenting the annual Financial statement in the State legislature.
• Governor forms the State finance Commission. He makes advance from the Contingency Fund in case of any emergency.
• A Bill presented in the Legislative Assembly becomes Law after Governor approves it. He has the right to send the Bill back for reconsideration to the House unless and until it is the Money Bill. He needs to approve it when the Bill comes for the second time in the Legislature.
• The Governor has got the right to promote a Bill when the session is closed if the Law has to be made immediately. The ordinance is brought in the next session and remains in active state for six weeks unless it is presented there.

 

Judicial Powers of the Governor are:

Governor has got the power to lessen the punishment or grant pardons. He also has got the right to commute, suspend or emit the sentence passed to a convict.
The President of India consults the Governor of a state before appointing the Chief Justice of High Court.
 

Emergency powers of the governor are:

It may happen that at times no party wins the majority, in that scenario Governor has got the power to choose the Chief Minister.
 
In case of any emergency, Governor informs the situation to the President in a written report and asks for permission to impose President’s rule in the state on his behalf. In that case, he does not need to hear to the advice of the council of ministers while taking decisions. The power and functions of the ministers are overridden by Governor.
 

Eligibility criteria to be the Governor of the state:

 

The following are the eligibility criteria that need to be followed for appointing the Governor of a state:

• He or she must be an Indian citizen.
• He or she must be above the age of 35 years.
• He of she must not hold any office of profit.
• He or she must not be a member of State Legislature. If such a person is appointed then he needs to leave the office immediately.

 

Facilities of a governor

The Governor of the state is provided with facilities like residence facilities, travel facilities, medical facilities, relaxation in electricity and phone bills, etc. He is provided a residence free of rent and gets certain amount of money as traveling expense across the country. The Governor and his family gets medical facilities which are free of cost for life time.
 

Selection of Governor

• The Governor of the state is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years.
• The term of Governor
• The Governor of the state is appointed for five years. He may leave the post for two reasons either when he resigns or is dismissed from his post. He may resign from the post before completion of his term. He may be dismissed from his post if found corrupted or working against the Constitution of India.

 

Pension of the Governor

Governor gets a amount each month as pension. Above that he gets free medical facilities for life time. He gets some secretarial allowance too.
 

List of Governors of India

Governors of Indian States
S. NO	State and U.T.	Governor
1	Andaman & Nicobar	A. K. Singh (Lieutenant-Governor)
2	Andhra Pradesh	Shri. E. S. L. Narasimhan
3	Arunachal Pradesh	Nirbhay Sharma
4	Assam	Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
5	Bihar	D. Y. Patil
6	Chandigarh	Shri Shivraj V. Patil (Administrator)
7	Chhattisgarh	Shri Shekhar Dutt
8	Goa	Shri Bharat Vir Wanchoo
9	Gujarat	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
10	Haryana	Shri Jagannath Pahadia
11	Himachal Pradesh	Urmila Singh
12	Jammu and Kashmir	Narinder Nath Vohra
13	Jharkhand	Dr. Syed Ahmed
14	Karnataka	Hansraj Bhardwaj
15	Kerala	Shri Nikhil Kumar
16	Madhya Pradesh	Ram Naresh Yadav
17	Maharashtra	K. Sankaranarayanan
18	Manipur	Sh. Gurbachan Jagat
19	Meghalaya	K. K. Paul
20	Mizoram	Shri Vakkom Purushothaman
21	Nagaland	Shri Ashwani Kumar
22	New Delhi	Najeeb Jung (Lieutenant-Governor)
23	Orissa	Shri S. C. Jamir
24	Puducherry	Virendra Kataria (Lieutenant-Governor )
25	Punjab	Shri Shivraj Patil
26	Rajasthan	Smt. Margaret Alva
27	Sikkim	Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil
28	Tamilnadu	Konijeti Rosaiah
29	Tripura	Shri Devanand Konwar
30	Uttar Pradesh	Shri Banwari Lal Joshi
31	Uttarakhand	Aziz Qureshi
32	West Bengal	Shri M. K Narayanan
33	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Shri B.S. Bhalla (Administrator)
34	Daman and Diu	Shri B.S. Bhalla (Administrator)
35	Lakshadweep	Shri H. Rajesh Prasad