Zonal Councils

Background and evolution

The reorganisation of states on linguistic lines in 1956 raised fears that regional loyalties might weaken national unity and that new borders would create disputes over water, power, language minorities and boundaries. During the debate on the States Reorganisation Commission's report, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru suggested that groups of states should have advisory councils to develop the habit of cooperative working. The States Reorganisation Act 1956 accordingly created five Zonal Councils.

The North-Eastern states were later given a separate body, the North Eastern Council, created by an Act of Parliament in 1971 as an advisory body for regional planning. In 2002 Sikkim was added to it, and the Act was amended to make the Council a regional planning body.

Key features and provisions

• Composition: the Union Home Minister as chairman; the Chief Ministers of the member states as vice-chairman by rotation, each holding office for a year; two other ministers from each state nominated by the Governor; and the administrators of Union Territories in the zone. Advisers from NITI Aayog and the chief secretaries assist.
• Zones: Northern (Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh); Central (Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh); Eastern (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal); Western (Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu); Southern (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry).
• Functions: discuss and advise on economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-state transport and matters arising from reorganisation.
• Standing committees: chaired by chief secretaries, they settle many issues before council meetings.
• Nature: statutory and advisory; recommendations are not binding.