Union Home Minister Chairs Western Zonal Council Meeting in Pune

Union Home Minister and Chairman of the Western Zonal Council, Amit Shah, chaired the 27th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Pune, Maharashtra, on 22 February 2025. The last 26th meeting of the Western Zonal Council was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 28th August 2023.

The meeting discussed 18 important issues related to the member states and the country as a whole.

Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah said that the Western region contributes 25% to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is home to industries where 80 to 90% of operations take place. 

Participants of the Meeting 

The Western Zonal Council consists of the states/Union Territories in the country's western geographical area- Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

At the 27th meeting, the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of  Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel and Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, were present.

The meeting was also attended by the administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Praful Patel.

It was also attended by the Union Home Secretary, Govind Mohan, Chief Secretary of the Member States and Union Territories and other senior officers.

About Zonal Councils In India 

Pandit Jawahar Lala Nehru mooted the idea of the Zonal Council in 1956 to promote the spirit of cooperative working amongst the states and provide a platform to resolve inter-state problems.

It also aims to promote national integration and stop the development of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies.

Five Zonal Councils were set up in the country as per the State Reorganisation Act 1956 provision.

Later, a North Eastern Council was established under the provision of the North East Council Act 1971.

The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of the Zonal Councils and the North Eastern Council.

Five Zonal Council in India and its member 

• Northern Zonal Council-  Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, And Union Territory of -Delhi, Chandigarh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Central Zonal Council-  Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
• Eastern Zonal Council- Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal;
• Western Zonal Council-  Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli;
• Southern Zonal Council- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Members of the North Eastern Council 

• Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

Function of Zonal Council

It is an advisory body, and its recommendations are not binding on the government.

It may discuss the following issues;

• matter of common interest in the field of social planning and economy;
• border disputes, inter-state transport or linguistic minorities;
• matter connected with the reorganization of the States under the States Reorganisation Act.