New Delhi, Feb 21 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 27th meeting of the Western Zonal Council on Saturday at Pune, Maharashtra.
The Western Zonal Council comprises Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. The Maharashtra government is hosting the meeting, which is being organised by the Inter State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the state government, an official statement said here.
The meeting will be attended by the chief ministers of the member states and the administrator of the Union Territories, along with two senior ministers from each state.
Five Zonal Councils were established in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Union Home Minister is the Chairman, while the Chief Ministers included in the respective Zonal Council and the Administrator/Lieutenant Governor of the UTs is its members.
Chief Ministers included in Zonal Council become vice-its chairman by turn. Two more ministers from each state are nominated by the Governor as members of the council. Each Zonal Council has also constituted a Standing Committee at the level of Chief Secretaries.
The Zonal Councils take up issues involving the Centre and the States and between one or more States in the region. Thus, the Zonal Councils provide an excellent platform for resolving disputes and issues between the Centre and the States and between the several States in the region.
The Zonal Councils hold discussions on a wide range of issues, including speedy investigation of cases of sexual offence/rape against women and children and implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for expeditious disposal of such cases, facilitation of banks/India Post Payment Bank branches within five kms in each village, implementation of Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), issues relating to infrastructure, mining, environment and forests, food security parameters, and other subjects of common interest at the regional level.
Many issues of national importance are also discussed in each meeting of the Zonal Councils. These include power operations, urban master plans, eliminating malnutrition among children through Poshan Abhiyan, discussion on reducing the dropout rate of school children, participation of government hospitals in Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), and other issues of common interest.
