Establishment Of Zonal Council

Introduction

The establishment of the Zonal Council has been done considering the reorganisation of states and cooperation among these states. Therefore, the adoption of this idea has been done by the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 to propose solutions to inner-state problems. Suggestions for creating four or five advisory groups for each council have been made to create a healthy inter-state relationship. Apart from that, this has also been focused on ‘to improve the central-states environment to overcome the hostility of states. Balance of socio-economic development in these zones has been one of the reasons for the establishment of the Zonal council. 

Zonal Council Establishment 

Meaning of Zonal Council

Zonal Councils are the constitutional body that has been formed for providing advisory and governance for the states. The Union Minister of Home Affairs governs these councils. Apart from the Chairman in this council, the Vice-Chairman is also appointed every year. This council was established in 1956 because of raising linguistic issues among states in India. Thus, improvement of the relationship to overcome the hostility among these states has been focused on by creating this advisory group. Main purpose of the establishment of this council is to redeem the issues among states and centre for socio-economic development. Therefore, balancing the development of states in this country has been emphasised to obtain healthy relationships. A standing committee is created in each of these zones and the Chief Secretaries have been appointed for the governance of these committees. Meeting of these committees with central ministers and secretaries of the planning commission is done to conduct work for the respective zones. The structure of this Zonal council consists of four these are Chairman, Vice Chairman, Members and Advisors. 

Zonal Council Notes

Zonal Council has been established to fulfil four objectives such as national integration, reduction of regionalism, cooperation between state and central,and development of projects. Consultation between centre and state is done in the meetings organised by Zonal Council. Through frank and direct conversation, the problems are required to be mitigated in these committee meetings. Differences between the Zonal Council and multiple fora of India can be observed as this committee focuses on national and regional interests. 

The link among states for economic, regional and social prosperity is observed through this Zonal Council. On the other hand, focusing on regional issues is done while considering the national interest. Solutions for the issues in these zones for three sectors are done through Zonal Council. These functions include a recommendation for economic and social planning, various disputes among states in respect of border or linguistic, reorganisation of the state. Therefore, Zonal Councils play an important role in the state reorganisation matter as per the State Reorganisation Act. The Zonal Council has had 106 meetings from its establishment to 2005 as per the Section 17(1), State Reorganisation Act of 1956. Information and security related to coastal, internal and external are discussed in these meetings. Section 19 and 20 are related to this Zonal Council’s staff and office regulations and hiring process. 

Zonal Council of India 

Originally, five councils have been established in India as per the State Reorganised Act of 1956. These are Northern Zonal, Central Zonal, Eastern Zonal, Western Zonal and Southern Zonal Council. However, in 1971 North-Eastern Zonal Council was set up as per the North Eastern Council Act of 1972. The Northern Zonal Council consists of Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Punjab and Rajasthan with New Delhi as its headquarter. On the other hand, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal fall under the Eastern Zone that has Kolkata as its headquarter. The Southern Zone has Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Telangana. This zone has its headquarter in Chennai and Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh fall under the Central Zone. Western Zone has Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya are under the North-Eastern Zone. The headquarters of the Western Zone and North-Eastern Zone are in Mumbai and Shillong, respectively. Sikkim was put under the North-Eastern Zone in 2002 by the North-Eastern Council Amendment Act in 2002. 

Conclusion 

The establishment of the Zonal Council has been discussed in this study while focusing on the State Reorganisation Act of 1956. The meaning of Zonal Council has been discussed by discussing the six different types of Zonal Council. It has been observed through this study that changes in the Zonal Council and its members can be done. A constitutional body deals with inner-state problems and solutions. The proposal of the Zonal Council establishment has been made based on linguistic issues in India after the State Reorganisation. Meetings of the Zonal Council are significant for the establishment of acts and governmental bills. Apart from that, it also deals with the budget allocation process; thus, the significance of this council is increasing in this respect.