Zonal Councils

Notes

Zonal Councils are statutory (not constitutional) bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The idea was suggested by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 to foster cooperation among neighbouring States and to reduce regional tensions after reorganisation.

Five Zonal Councils

Northern: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh.
Central: Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh.
Eastern: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal.
Western: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Southern: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry.
The North-Eastern Council (NEC) is separate, set up under the North-Eastern Council Act, 1971, covering Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim (added in 2002).

Composition

Chairman: the Union Home Minister (common to all five).
Vice-Chairman: the Chief Ministers of the zone, by rotation, for one year.
Members: the Chief Minister and two other ministers from each State; Administrators of Union Territories; advisers from NITI Aayog and Chief Secretaries.

Functions (advisory): discuss matters of common interest in economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-State transport and power; promote balanced regional development and national integration. They meet at least once a year; standing committees of Chief Secretaries prepare the agenda.

Zonal Councils vs Inter-State Council: Zonal Councils are statutory and regional; the Inter-State Council is constitutional (Art. 263) and national.

Key Points

Statutory, under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956; five councils.
Chairman: Union Home Minister; Vice-Chairman: rotating Chief Minister.
NEC is separate (1971 Act).
Advisory bodies for regional cooperation.
Idea of Jawaharlal Nehru.

MCQs

Q1. Zonal Councils were established under: (a) Art. 263 (b) States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (c) Constitution (7th Amendment) (d) Presidential order Ans: (b).

Q2. The Chairman of each Zonal Council is: (a) Prime Minister (b) Union Home Minister (c) Governor (d) Chief Minister of the host State Ans: (b).

Q3. The North-Eastern Council was set up under: (a) States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (b) North-Eastern Council Act, 1971 (c) Art. 371A (d) Art. 263 Ans: (b).