Amit Shah to chair Northern Zonal Council meet in Chandigarh today; border disputes, infrastructure likely to be discussed

Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 29th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh on 20 September. The grouping comprises states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan besides union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_7114621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Home Minister Amit Shah. PTI[/caption] The Haryana chief minister is the vice-chairman and host of the meeting. Chief ministers from the member states, along with two ministers each; administrators of union territories, chief secretaries and senior officials would attend the meeting, an official release said in Chandigarh on Wednesday. The meeting of the zonal council was last held in Chandigarh on 12 May, 2017. Five zonal councils were set up in 1957 under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The Union home minister is the chairman of each of these five councils. The chief minister of the host state is the vice-chairman. Two more ministers from each state are nominated to the council by the governor. “The councils take up issues involving the Centre and states or one/many states falling in the zone. The zonal councils, thus, provide a forum for resolving disputes,” the official release said. The zonal councils discuss a broad range of issues, including boundary disputes, security, infrastructure-related matters such as roads, transport, industries, water and power besides matters pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism and transport.