Establishment of Zonal Councils

During the States Re-organisation Commission’s report discussion in 1956, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, advocated for the formation of Zonal Councils. Pandit Nehru proposed this idea at a time when linguistic hostility and hatred were threatening the very foundations of our nation as a result of the reorganisation of the States along with a linguistic pattern. They are in the north, south, centre, west, and east, whilst the North Eastern Council, on the other hand, deals with the particular concerns of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

Zonal Council

The goal of building Zonal Councils had first been recommended by India’s first Prime Minister,  Jawahar Lal Nehru, during the States Re-organisation Commission’s report debate in 1956, when he recommended that the reorganized states be divided into four / five zones, each with an Advisory Council to “begin the process of cooperative functioning” among them. 

This idea was given by Jawaharlal Nehru at a period when linguistic hostility and hatred were endangering the very foundation of our nation as a result of the re-organization of the States on a language pattern. 

As a counter-measure, it was indicated that a high advisory forum is established to lessen the effects of these hostilities and also to create a healthier inter-State as well as Centre-State environment to resolve inter-State issues and cultivate balanced socio-economic growth and development in the respective zones.

Zonal council’s composition

States Re-organisation Act, 1956, established five Zonal Councils in response to Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision. The following is the current structure of all of these councils:

The Northern Zonal Council, which includes the states of 

• Haryana, 
• Himachal Pradesh, 
• Jammu & Kashmir, 
• Punjab, 
• Rajasthan, 
• Delhi’s National Capital Territory, and 
• Chandigarh’s Union Territory;

The Central Zonal Council, which includes 

• Chhattisgarh, 
• Uttarakhand, 
• Uttar Pradesh, 
• Madhya Pradesh;

The Eastern Zonal Council, which includes 

• Bihar, 
• Jharkhand, 
• Orissa, 
• Sikkim, and 
• West Bengal.

The Western Zonal Council, which includes the Indian states of 

• Goa, 
• Gujarat, and 
• Maharashtra,
• Union Territories of Daman & Diu as well as Dadra & Nagar Haveli;

States that make up the Southern Zonal Council are:

• Andhra Pradesh,
• Telangana 
• Karnataka, 
• Kerala, 
• Tamil Nadu, and 
• the Union Territory of Puducherry 

The North Eastern States, namely Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, are not included in the Zonal Councils, and their unique problems are handled by the North Eastern Council, which was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972. 

The North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002, promulgated on December 23, 2002, also includes Sikkim in the North Eastern Council. As a result, the Home Ministry has taken steps to remove Sikkim as a member of the Eastern Zonal Council.

Zonal council’s committees

Each Zonal Council has established a Standing Committee which has the Chief Secretary of the Zonal Council’s member States. These Standing Committees convene occasionally to settle the concerns or to undertake essential groundwork for additional sessions of the Zonal Councils. 

Zonal council’s organisational structure

• Chairman – Each of these Councils is chaired by the Union Home Minister.
• Vice Chairman – The Chief Ministers of States that make up each zone rotate as Vice-Chairmen of the Zonal Council for just that zone, each serving for a year at a time.
• Members: The Governor of each state nominates the Chief Minister plus two additional ministers from every state, as well as two members from the Union Territories that are a part of the zone.

Zonal council’s objectives

The following are the major goals of establishing Zonal Councils:

• Fostering national integration; 
• halting the rise of intense state consciousness, regionalism, linguism, and particularistic tendencies; 
• allowing the Centre and the States to collaborate and share ideas and experiences; and 
• fostering an environment of collaboration among the States for the timely and successful implementation of development projects.

Council Responsibilities

A Zonal Council may, for example, start debating and offer suggestions on: 

• any matter of prevalent interest in the area of social and economic planning; 
• any matter involving border issues, linguistic minority groups, or inter-State transportation; and 
• any matter related to or arising out of the States Reorganisation Act.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve discussed the five zonal councils, their committees, organisational structure and roles and objectives. They are very important for harmonious inter-state and state-centre relationships and the main aims of establishing them are to promote national unity, prevent the emergence of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism, and particularistic inclinations, and stop the growth of strong state consciousness, regionalism, linguism, & particularistic tendencies. They also hope to foster inter-state cooperation to ensure the timely and effective implementation of development initiatives.