Amit Shah to preside over 27th Western Zonal Council meeting in Pune today

PUNE: Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will preside over the 27th Western Zonal Council meeting on Saturday in Pune, Maharashtra.

The council comprising Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu will meet under the auspices of the Inter-State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, in association with the Maharashtra government.

The Chief Ministers of member states, the Union Territories Administrator, two senior ministers from each state, Chief Secretaries, Advisors, and other important officials of the respective governments will attend the meeting. Senior Central government officers, such as the Union Home Secretary and the Secretary of the Inter-State Council, will also attend.

Formed in 1957 pursuant to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, there are five Zonal Councils that act as important forums for promoting regional interaction and settlement of Centre-State and inter-state matters. The chairman of all Zonal Councils is the Union Home Minister, and members are the Chief Ministers and Administrators of the concerned state and Union Territories.

The vice-chairmanship goes around the chief ministers. There is also a Standing Committee at the Chief Secretary level for every council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always emphasised cooperative and competitive federalism in order to spearhead national development, stating that powerful states develop a powerful nation. In keeping with this vision, the status of Zonal Councils has shifted from an advisory role to an action-orientated platform in the Modi government. The Standing Committee meetings of all the Zonal Councils, excluding the Southern Council, were last year successfully organised.