Fishermen security, LWE figure in Southern Zonal Council meet

The 26th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council, inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here today, decided to issue more biometric cards to fishermen for safety, urged railways to reconsider policy on sharing of costs, and discussed reimbursing the expenditure in certain areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
The meeting, presided over by Singh, was attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Panneerselvam, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, Kerala Water Resources Minister P J Joseph, Telangana Home Minister Naini Narasimha Reddy, Puducherry Lt Governor Lt Gen (retd) A K Singh and officials.

Zonal Councils are a forum for the states and the Centre to discuss various issues. Southern Zonal Council includes Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry.
"Out of eight issues (pending from last meeting), we were able to sort out four. Tamil Nadu raised the issue of central funds under poverty alleviation for the new schemes... The Central Rural Development Ministry could clarify that the matter has been referred to a Group of Ministers," said Naini Jayaseelan, Secretary, Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, after the meeting.
"The issues of security to fishermen are very, very important for the entire region. We decided to take it forward. More biometric cards are to be issued (to the fishermen)," she told reporters.

The whole coastal security issue was reviewed with Indian Coast Guard making a presentation, she said.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana spoke about the need to
augment the central forces to combat Naxal violence in certain areas of Andhra and the intensity of the problem in the junction of AP, Odisha, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao said.
All the states said the railways' policy of state governments having to pay 50 per cent cost if the railway lines are to be expedited should be reviewed, Jayaseelan said. The matter would be forwarded to the railways.
There would be pro-active interaction on the issue of human trafficking among the states and the MHA, she said.

Krishna Rao said the states also wanted the railways to re-look at its policy of putting in only one-third of cost where a special purpose vehicle is formed with state governments. The states want railways to share half the cost.
Rajnath Singh, in his inaugural address earlier, said the country was facing serious challenge from the Left Wing Extremism which needs to be countered effectively and collectively with the states.
Coastal security in the southern states needs to be strengthened, he added. Emphasising importance of cooperative federalism, Singh said Zonal Councils are one of the important means to achieve the goal of cooperative federalism which holds key to growth and progress of the country.

The NDA government gave utmost importance to strengthening the institution of Zonal Councils and the Inter-State Council from the very beginning, the Union Home Minister said.
These Councils have immense potential to resolve pending problems by active cooperation between the Centre and States and among the States through healthy discussions, he said.
The government has been able to hold the meetings of all the Zonal Councils in this calendar year, he noted.
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sought the railways to take up a feasibility study of establishing a high-speed corridor connecting Chennai, Amaravati (the capital city of AP coming up near Vijayawada) and Bangalore, Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao said.

The Union Home Minister was also in favour of the proposal, he said.
The AP government also made a specific request for a dedicated freight line along the East Coast as far as the state is concerned, he said.
The inclusion of Chennai and Odhisha could make it more attractive.
Another specific request from AP was to expedite Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor with Krishnapatnam port as an important node, Krishna Rao said.
Noting that the smuggling of red sanders has inter-state ramifications and its reach going up to Bihar and even Myanmar, he said the Centre has agreed to take it up in an appropriate manner.

Replying to a query, Jayaseelan said there are no issues of disagreement and that they would move forward on pending issues. The next meeting of the Southern Zonal Council would be held in Thiruvananthapuram.