Zonal Councils in India

They are statutory bodies established by an act of parliament (State reorganization Act of 1956). The home minister of central government is the common chairman of all the zonal councils

Other members include: The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time, Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
At present there are six zonal councils– Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, Southern and North-Eastern.

Composition Of Zonal Councils

The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;
The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli;
The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Organizational Layout – The Zonal Council

The organisation of the established zonal council zonal consists of the following members.

Chairman: The chairman of each subdivision of the zonal council is the Union Home minister.
Vice-chairman: From each State, two from the Union Territories (UTs) included in the zones, a Chief Minister along with the other two Ministers as directed by the Governor, is appointed as the vice-chairman of that specific zone. It is done on a rotational basis for the tenure of one year at a given time.
Advisors: These are the individuals, nominated for each subdivision of the zonal council, via the Planning Commission, the Chief Secretaries or any other officer.
Union ministers are also required to attend zonal council meetings when necessary.

Role & Objective of Zonal Councils

Bringing out national integration
Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies;
Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences;
Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

Functions of Zonal Councils

Each Zonal Council is an advisory body and may discuss any matter in which States have a common interest and advise the Government.
In particular, a Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to:

any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;
any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport;
any matter connected with or arising out of, the re-organization of the States under the State’s Reorganisation Act.

Conclusion

The idea of creating a zonal council was taken up in 1956 by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. It was thrown up during the debate sessions held on the States Reorganisation Commission reports conclusion. There was the creation of five zonal councils via the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Part III). Every zonal council is considered an advisory body. The organisation of the established zonal council zonal consists of a chairman, vice-chairman, members and advisors. The zonal council advises the Central Government and each State government and draws recommendations in context to numerous issues.

Zonal Councils in India

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