The Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) is an act of Parliament of India which was established to ensure the delivery of certain services, which if obstructed would affect the normal life of the people.[1] This include services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and hospitals).[2][3] The ESMA is a central law, that is, a law made by the Parliament of India; but the discretion on the execution of it mostly lies with the State governments. Each state in the union of India, hence has a separate state Essential Services Maintenance Act with slight variations from the central law in its provisions. This freedom is accorded by the central law itself. Although it is a very powerful law,[according to whom?] its execution rests entirely on the discretion of the State government. The law has seen little use in India, with many strikes by public transport providers or staff, doctors or Government employees, being continued for weeks without ESMA being invoked by the Union Government or the State Government. There have been instances of citizens approaching courts for implementation of ESMA, and the executive being forced by court orders to declare ESMA over a strike and the strikes being called off overnight.
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