New Delhi, Jun 23: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will chair the 25th meeting of the Central Zonal Council in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday. The Council includes the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand.
The meeting will be attended by the Chief Ministers of the member states, two senior ministers from each, Chief Secretaries, and senior officials from both state and central governments.
It is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Zonal Councils are chaired by the Union Home Minister. They serve as platforms for intergovernmental dialogue and cooperation. “From each member state, the Governor nominates two ministers as members of the council,” the Ministry noted.
Reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on cooperative and competitive federalism, the Councils aim to promote consensus on issues of shared interest between the Centre and states. “With the cooperation of all state governments, central ministries, and departments, a total of 61 meetings of the various Zonal Councils and their permanent committees have been held in the last eleven years,” the Ministry stated. The Varanasi meeting will focus on issues of regional and national importance, including fast-tracking cases of sexual offenses, expanding rural banking infrastructure, strengthening the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), and improving health, education, nutrition, electricity, and urban planning in member states.
