Union home minister Amit Shah will chair the 29th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council, comprising Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in Tirupati on Sunday.
During the meeting, officials will discuss a broad range of issues, including boundary disputes, security, and infrastructure-related matters like road, transport, industries, water and power, a statement by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to leverage cooperative and competitive federalism to achieve all-round growth. The home minister has given impetus to this vision of cooperative federalism to empower states and promote a better understanding between the Centre and states in policy framework, the statement said.
The zonal councils provide a platform to foster such collaboration through a structured mechanism for dialogue and discussion continuously on the issues affecting two or more states or the Centre and states, in the spirit that strong states make a strong nation, it said.
Shah has emphasized on using the platform of zonal council for dispute resolving and promoting cooperative federalism.
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is the vice-chairman and the host. Other chief ministers from the states in the zone along with two ministers each are the members.
The zonal councils take up issues involving the Centre and states and one or many states falling in the zone. The zonal councils, thus, provide a forum for resolving disputes and irritants between the Centre and the states and among many states in the zone.
They discuss a broad range of issues which include boundary-related disputes, security, infrastructure-related matters like road, transport, industries, water, and power, matters on forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism and transport among others.
Five zonal councils were set up in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Re-organization Act, 1956. The Union home minister is the chairman of each of these zonal councils and chief ministers of the host state (to be chosen by rotation every year) is the vice-chairman. Two more ministers from each state are nominated as members by the governor.
