New Delhi:Union Home Minister Amit Shah will preside over a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council to be held in Amritsar on Tuesday. The Northern Zonal Council comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh.
The council's 31st meeting will be held in Amritsar in Punjab on September 26, according to an official statement. The council discusses a wide range of issues, including matters related to the Bhakra-Beas Management Board, affiliation to Panjab University, road construction work under PMGSY, canal projects and water sharing, matters related to reorganisation of states, and infrastructure development.
Other issues include land acquisition, environmental and forest clearance, regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme and issues of common interest at the regional level. Many issues of national importance are also discussed in every meeting of the zonal councils, the statement said. Chief ministers of the member states along with two senior ministers from each state and the lieutenant governors/administrators of the Union territories are part of the council. The chief secretary and other senior officers of the state governments and UTs and senior officers of the central government will also participate in the meeting.
The Narendra Modi government has been regularly holding meetings of the zonal councils as part of its overall strategy to strengthen and promote cooperative and competitive federalism in the country, officials said. The regional councils provide a forum for discussion in a structured manner on issues affecting one or more states or issues between the Centre and the states.