Home Minister chairs 31st Northern Zonal Council meet in Amritsar

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah presided over the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Amritsar, Punjab on 26thSeptember 2023. 

Northern Zonal Council comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh.

About the meeting

The Inter State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is collaborating with the Government of Punjab to organize the meeting.

The 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council was attended by the Chief Ministers of the member states along with two senior ministers from each state and the Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of the Union Territories. 

About the Zonal Council

During a debate on the report of the States Reorganisation Commission in 1956, India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, suggested the creation of Zonal Councils. 

• He proposed grouping the states proposed for reorganisation into four or five zones and establishing an Advisory Council to encourage cooperative working among these states. The aim was to develop a culture of collaboration and teamwork. 
• In accordance with Pandit Nehru's vision, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 established five Zonal Councils, making them a statutory body.

The Zonal Councils in India are divided into five regions: 

Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern. 

1. The Northern Zonal Council comprises the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi, and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
2. The Central Zonal Council comprises the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. 
3. The Eastern Zonal Council comprises the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, and West Bengal. 
4. The Western Zonal Council comprises the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. 
5. The Southern Zonal Council comprises the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The North Eastern States, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, have their own governing body, the North Eastern Council, which was established by the North Eastern Council Act in 1972. The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council since the North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act in 2002.

Composition

• Chairman and Vice Chairman: The Union Home Minister serves as the Chairman of the Councils. Each zone's Chief Ministers act as Vice-Chairman on a rotating basis, holding the position for one year at a time. 
• Members: The Councils include the Chief Minister and two Ministers nominated by the Governor from each State, as well as two members from the Union Territories in the zone. Additionally, each Zonal Council has one adviser nominated by the Planning Commission, as well as Chief Secretaries and Development Commissioners nominated by each State within the zone.