Find ways of increasing revenue of panchayats, Union Home Minister urges CMs

At the 25th Central Zonal Council Meeting held in Varanasi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh to:

• Enhance the revenue of Gram Panchayats, making the three-tier Panchayati Raj system more effective.

• Work towards eradicating child malnutrition, reducing school dropout to zero, and strengthening the cooperative sector.

• Ensure brick-and-mortar banking services in every village and proper implementation of fast-track courts, especially for cases involving women and children.

• Improve the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS).

Key outcomes and discussions:

• States emphasized on federal cooperation and infrastructure development in border areas.

• Zonal Council meets have increased post-2014:

  • 2004–14: 11 meetings

  • 2014–25: 28 meetings

Zonal Councils 

Constitutional and Statutory Status:

• Not constitutional bodies.

• Statutory bodies created under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Section 15–22).

• Designed to promote cooperation and coordination among States and Union Territories in each zone.

Number and Structure:

India has five Zonal Councils:

1. Northern (e.g. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, etc.)

2. Central (U.P., Uttarakhand, M.P., Chhattisgarh)

3. Eastern (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal)

4. Western (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa)

5. Southern (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry)

Note: North-Eastern Council (NEC) is not under Zonal Councils. It is a separate statutory body under the NEC Act, 1971.

Composition:

• Chairman: Union Home Minister

• Vice Chairman: CM of the hosting State (on rotation)

• Members: CMs and administrators/Lieutenant Governors of States and UTs in that zone

• Invitees: Ministers of relevant portfolios, senior officials

Functions and Objectives:

• Discuss and resolve:

  • Inter-State disputes

  • Border issues

  • Infrastructure, economic and social planning

  • Security, law and order

  • Linguistic minorities, regional development

• Promote cooperative federalism.

Standing Committee:

Each council has a Standing Committee headed by the Union Home Secretary for regular monitoring and follow-up.

Prelims Quick Facts: