What are Zonal Councils?
Zonal Councils are advisory councils and are made up of the states that have been grouped into five zones to foster cooperation among them.
Who first mooted the idea of creation of Zonal Councils?
The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956.
Why Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru mooted the idea of creation of Zonal Councils?
The suggestion was made by Pandit Nehru at a time when linguistic hostilities and bitterness as a result of re-organisation of the States on linguistic pattern were threatening the very fabric of our nation.
As an antidote to this situation, it was suggested that a high level advisory forum should be set up to minimise the impact of these hostilities and to create healthy inter-State and Centre-State environment with a view to solving inter-State problems and fostering balanced socio economic development of the respective zones.
Are Zonal Councils statutory or constitutional?
The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies. They are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 divided the country into how many zones?
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 divided the country into five zones (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern) and provided a zonal council for each zone.
What is the present composition of each of these Zonal Councils?
The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:
1 . Northern Zonal Council
Members : Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
Headquarters : New Delhi
2 . Central Zonal Council
Members : Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh
Headquarters : Allahabad
3 . Eastern Zonal Council
Members : Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha
Headquarters : Kolkata
4 . Western Zonal Council
Members : Gujarat, Maharastra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Headquarters : Mumbai
5 . Southern Zonal Council
Members : Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry
Headquarters : Chennai
What are the factors that have been taken into account while forming these zones?
While forming these zones, several factors have been taken into account which include: the natural divisions of the country, the river systems and means of communication, the cultural and linguistic
affinity and the requirements of economic development, security and law and order.
What is the composition(membership) of each zonal council?
Each zonal council consists of the following members:
(a) home minister of Central government.
(b) chief ministers of all the States in the zone.
(c) Two other ministers from each state in the zone.
(d) Administrator of each union territory in the zone.
Besides, the following persons can be associated with the zonal council as advisors (i.e., without the right to vote in the meetings):
(i) a person nominated by the Planning Commission;
(ii) chief secretary of the government of each state in the zone; and
(iii) development commissioner of each state in the zone.
Who is/are the chairman and vice-chairman of the zonal council?
The home minister of Central government is the common chairman of the five zonal councils.
Each chief minister acts as a vice-chairman of the council by rotation, holding office for a period of
one year at a time.
What is the aim of zonal councils?
The zonal councils aim at promoting cooperation and coordination between states, union territories and the Centre.
They discuss and make recommendations regarding matters like economic and social planning, linguistic minorities, border disputes, interstate transport, and so on.
Are the recommendations made by zonal councils mandatory?
No, they are only deliberative and advisory in nature.
What are the objectives (or the functions) of the zonal councils?
The objectives (or the functions) of the zonal councils, in detail, are as follows:
• To achieve an emotional integration of the country.
• To help in arresting the growth of acute state-consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic trends.
• To help in removing the after-effects of separation in some cases so that the process of reorganisation, integration and economic advancement may synchronise.
• To enable the Centre and states to cooperate with each other in social and economic matters and exchange ideas and experience in order to evolve uniform policies.
• To cooperate with each other in the successful and speedy execution of major development projects.
• To secure some kind of political equilibrium between different regions of the country.
What is North-Eastern Council?
The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.
The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002.
What is the present membership of North-Eastern Council?
Its members include Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunchal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.
What are the functions of North-Eastern Council?
Its functions are similar to those of the zonal councils, but with few additions. It has to formulate a unified and coordinated regional plan covering matters of common importance. It has to review from time to time the measures taken by the member states for the maintenance of security and public order in the region.
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External link: https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/ZCS-CitiCharter-130710_1.pdf
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
QUES . Which of the following bodies does not/do not find mention in the Constitution? UPSC 2013
1 . National Development Council
2 . Planning Commission
3 . Zonal Councils
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(d)
QUES . How many Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-Ill of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 ? CDS 2019
(a) Eight
(b) Seven
(c) Six
(d) Five
(d)
QUES . Which of the following is/are extra-constitutional and extra-legal device(s) for securing cooperation and coordination between the States in India ? UPSC 1995
I. The National Development Council
II. The Governors’ Conference
III. Zonal Councils
IV. The Inter-State Council.
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:
(a) I, II and III
(b) I, III and IV
(c) III and IV
(d) IV only
(a)
