Western Zonal Council discusses coastal, internal security

Coastal and internal security of western states were discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Chief Ministers and administrators of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The Western Zonal Council took up issues which relate to coastal security, internal security, issuance of bio-metric identity cards to fishermen and issue of card readers, formulation of plans for countering terrorism and modernisation of police force.
Issues related to bringing back Indian fishermen, many of them belonging to Gujarat, languishing in Pakistan jails, education and Aadhaar, pollution control and environmental related issues were also discussed, an official statement said.

Out of the 21 items discussed today, most were resolved in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Ministers and Ministers of these states and administrators of Union Territories as well as senior officers of Central and state governments.
The Council also reviewed the progress of implementation of the recommendations made in the last meeting.

Zonal Council is a forum for the Centre and the states to cooperate and exchange ideas and experiences on issues related to health, security and social welfare.
The states have been divided into five zones and each zone has its council comprising the chief minister, two ministers and the chief secretary of each state.

The zonal councils are headed by the Union Home Minister and each zone nominates one chief minister as its vice-chairman on rotation basis.
The zonal councils provide a forum where irritants between the Centre and states and amongst the states themselves can be resolved through free and frank discussion and consultations.
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Other important issues discussed by the Western Zonal Council were Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban) Mission, surplus lands of central government for 'Housing for All: 2022' and providing shelters to the urban homeless.
Issues relating to checking pollution in Daman Ganga and Kolak river due to discharge of untreated effluents from Vapi industrial area were deliberated in detail, while appropriate measures to be adopted were also given.

Issues relating to setting up of Regional Development Authority for development of infrastructure in the region, setting up of international museum of Indus Valley civilisation in Kutch District was also discussed, the statement said.
The Inter-State Council meeting was also held under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 16 after a long gap of 10 years.
Today's meeting also considered some of the important issues discussed in the meeting of Inter-State Council.
Five Zonal Councils (Northern, Western, Eastern, Central and Southern) were set up under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 to foster Inter-State co-operation and co-ordination among the states.

The Zonal Councils 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 etc.
They are regional fora of co-operative endeavor for states linked with each other economically, politically and culturally.
Being compact high-level bodies, specially meant for looking after the interests of respective Zones, they are capable of focusing attention on specific issues taking into account regional factors, while keeping the national perspective in view.
With the active involvement and initiative of the Union Home Minister all the meetings of the five Zonal Councils -- Eastern, Western and Southern and Central -- were held last year.

In fact, other than in 2015, it was only in the years 1972 and 2005 that the meetings of all the Zonal Councils could be held during a calendar year over the last 50 years. And of the 150 odd items discussed last year, 50 to 60 per cent of them were resolved in the meetings.