Question

Which of the following statements is not correct regarding unitary government?
A. There are two or more tiers of governments
B. The subunits of the government are subordinate to the central government
C. The power of the Union (parliament) to legislate on the matter included in the state list
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint:
A unitary government is characterised by a central government. Many unitary states do not have any areas with a degree of autonomy. Sub-national regions do not decide on their own laws in such countries.

Complete step by step solution:
A unitary state is a state in which the central government is ultimately sovereign, governed as a single body. The central government may establish (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units) in unitary states. These units only exercise the powers the central government wishes to delegate. Though political authority can be transferred by law to regional or local governments via devolution, the central government can repeal the actions of devolved governments or limit (or expand) their powers.
Some characteristics of a unitary government are:
1. Centralisation of powers: All powers are concentrated in the hands of the central government in a unitary structure and that centre is the reservoir of all state powers. There are no state governments in this structure and the constitution empowers the central government to legislate, execute, and adjudicate with complete authority. In order to share governmental powers with the central government, there is no other agency.
2. Single and Simple Government: There is a popularly elected unicameral legislature. The central legislature is there to legislate, conduct the executive and adjudicate without any share of the judiciary. Their costs are lower and centralised authority is used to manage the state.
3. No distribution of Power: The federal constitution distributes authority between the centre and the provinces. There is no list of the allocation of powers in the constitution in a unitary structure, however. The central government belongs to both powers.
Hence, the correct answer is option A.

Note:
 Britain is considered a unitary state since the powers of the component parts of the UK have been passed down from the top, not handed over by a federation. The UK Parliament established the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies and has only those powers that it has chosen to delegate to them.