Home Minister Amit Shah chair Northern Zonal Council meeting in Jaipur

Tags: State News

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held in Jaipur on July 9, where security, road, transport, industry, water, electricity and other issues of common interest were discussed.

• Important facts

• Chief Ministers, Governors and Lieutenant Governors of 8 states/union territories including Rajasthan attended the meeting.

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot delivered the welcome address.

• The meeting was held in Jaipur after 25 years.

• The Modi government has been holding regular meetings of regional councils as part of its overall strategy to strengthen and promote cooperative and competitive federalism in the country. 

• In the last eight years, the number of meetings of the Regional Councils and its Standing Committees has tripled.

• About Zonal Councils

• In 1956 first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru give the idea of creation of Zonal Councils.

• There are five Zonal Councils in India which were established in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956.

• A Standing Committee is constituted by each Zonal Council consisting of the Chief Secretaries of their respective Zonal Councils of the Member States.

• These Standing Committees meet from time to time to resolve the issues.

• Chairman - The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils

• Vice-chairman - Chief Minister of the host state

• Five Zonal Councils

1. The Northern Zonal Council - States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh are included.

2. The Central Zonal Council -  States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are included.

3. The Eastern Zonal Council - States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal are included.

4. The Western Zonal Council - States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are included.

5. The Southern Zonal Council - States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry are included.

• Objectives of the Zonal Councils

• National integration

• Enabling Centre and States to collaborate and exchange ideas and experiences

• Stopping the growth of regionalism, linguism and specific tendencies

• To establish an environment of cooperation among the states for successful and speedy execution of development projects

• Significance of Zonal Councils

• Zonal councils provide a forum for discussion on issues affecting one or more states or issues between the Centre and the states.

• It helps in developing a coordinated approach through deliberation and exchange of views among the states on important issues of social and economic development.

• They provide a forum for resolving disputes between the Centre and the states.

Kindly also see 11 June 2022 post