All You Need To Know About Zonal Council
Introduction
A statutory entity created by the State Reorganization Act of 1956 is the Zonal Council. It is a consultative group that can talk about any issue that involves some or all of the States represented in that Council, or the Union and some or all of those States. The Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern zones, each with its own zonal council, were created as a result of the act. The chairperson of all the zonal councils is the home minister.
Zonal Councils
• According to the State Reorganization Act of 1956, the zonal council was created as a statutory authority. There is no constitutional body for it.
• The establishment of zonal councils aims to enhance interstate coordination and collaboration.
• After discussing the recommendations of the States Reorganization Commission in 1956, India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, presented the idea of Zonal Councils.
• Each Zonal Council must meet at times designated by the Council Chairman in accordance with Section 17(1) of the States Reorganization Act.
• The Secretariat of the Zonal Councils was established using the statue as well.
• Center-state, inter-state, and zonal issues are researched by the Secretariat of the Zonal Councils before being brought up for discussion by the Councils or Standing Committees.
Zone Councils: Membership
• Each committee is led by the Union Home Minister as its chairperson.
• Vice Chairman: For a period of one year, the chief minister of each state alternately serves as vice chairman of the zonal council for that zone.
• Members: the Chief Minister, two additional ministers chosen by each state's governor, and two representatives from the Union territories located within that zone.
• Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner selected by each of the States involved in the Zone, as well as one member appointed by the Planning Commission (formerly known as NITI Aayog) for each Zonal Council.
• The Union's ministers may be invited to attend regional committee meetings as well, if necessary.
Objectives of Zonal Councils
• To encourage national unity.
• Stop the spread of linguisticism, particularism, regionalism, and strong state consciousness.
• Permit cooperation and knowledge sharing between the federal government and the states.
• Provide a cooperative environment among nations for the successful and quick implementation of development programs.
Zone Councils' Responsibilities
• Each Zonal Council is a consultative body that has the authority to discuss any issue on which the Union and one or more of the States represented in that Council or some or all of the States represented therein have a common interest. It also has the authority to recommend a course of action to the Central Government and the governments of the individual States involved.
• Particularly, a Zonal Council may speak about and offer recommendations regarding any issue of shared interest in the area of economic and social planning, any issue involving border disputes, linguistic minorities, or interstate transportation, and any issue related to or resulting from the States Reorganization Act.
What Number of Zonal Councils Exist?
The five zonal councils are as follows:
1. Northern Zonal Council:
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana are all members of the Northern Zonal Council. Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and the National Capital Region of Delhi.
2. Central Zonal Council:
Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh make up the Central Zone Council.
3. Eastern Zonal Council:
The Eastern Zonal Council is made up of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
4. Western Zonal Council:
The states of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dammam, and the Federal Territories are included in the Western zonal councils. Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Diu.
5. Southern Zonal Council:
The combined territories of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Pondicherry are included in the Southern Zonal Council.
The northeastern states, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Megara Yabang, Sikkim, are not included in the zonal council and its specific issues, which are managed by the Northeast Council formed by the Northeast Council Act of 1972.
Zonal Councils: Their Relevance
• By open and sincere discussions and deliberations, the Zonal Councils offer a fantastic forum for settling disputes between the Centre and the states as well as among the states.
• Their meetings allow for an unrestricted interchange of ideas because they are advisory organizations.
• The National Development Council, Inter-State Council, Governor's/Chief Minister's Conferences, and other recurring high-level conferences held under the auspices of the Union Government are examples of other fora, but the Zonal Councils are unique in both content and personality.
• These are attempts at regional cooperation for states with interconnected economies, political systems, and cultures.
• Being small, high-level organizations created particularly to protect the interests of their various zones, they are able to concentrate attention on particular issues while taking into consideration local factors and keeping the overall national perspective in mind.
Conclusion
The States Reorganization Act of 1956, a parliamentary act, established the zonal councils as a legal entity. It helps two or more states resolve any problems that might arise on the public interstate aand result in conflict inside the nation or between the states. In order to promote public interest, the zonal council collaborated with the government to develop suggestions.