C'garh: Shah to chair 22nd Central Zonal Council meet on Tue

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 22nd Central Zonal Council meeting here on Tuesday and it will be attended by chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, said an official.

Five zonal councils - Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central were set up under States Reorganization Act, 1956 to foster inter-state cooperation and coordination.

They are mandated to discuss and make recommendations on any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-state transport among others.

"The meeting will take place from 11 am to 3 pm at Mayfair Lake Resort in Naya Raipur, the upcoming capital city of the state. Chief Ministers Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand) will attend," the official said.

"Host state CM Bhupesh Baghel will be present as the vice chairman. Two ministers from each of the four states, the respective chief secretaries and senior officials will take part," he added.

The council takes up issues involving the Centre and states and is a forum for resolving disputes, informed the official.

He said a broad range of issues, including security, infrastructure matters like road, transport, industries, water and power will be discussed, besides those pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education among others.

Left Wing Extremism (LWE), faced mainly by host state Chhattisgarh, will also figure prominently in the meeting and is likely to centre on the need for sophisticated weapons and other equipment to fight Maoist ultras, the official informed.

A BJP spokesperson said Shah will later address a meeting of party workers in its Kushabhau Thakre Parisar here, and then leave for Delhi at around 5:35 pm.