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Home Minister Amit Shah to chair Central Zonal Council meet today

New Delhi: The 22nd meeting of the Central Zonal Council, a forum for the Centre and the states to exchange ideas and experiences on issues related to security, industries and power among others, will be held in Chhattisgarh's Raipur city on Tuesday, officials said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will preside over the day-long meeting to be attended by chief ministers and senior officials of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is the vice-chairman of the Central Zonal Council and host of the event. Two ministers, chief secretaries and other senior officers of the state governments will attend the meeting with central government representatives, an official from the Home Ministry said on Monday.

The council takes up issues concerning the Centre and member-states of the zone. The zonal councils are thus an effective platform for the resolution of inter-state disputes as well as irritants between the Centre and member-states.

The zonal councils discuss a broad range of issues which include boundary-related disputes, security, infrastructure-related matters like roads, transport, water, industries and power etc.

Matters pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism and transport are also expected to be discussed during the meeting, another official said.

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 the states, and among the states themselves can be resolved through free and frank discussion and consultations, another official said.

Being advisory bodies, there is full scope for free exchange of views at these meetings.

The meeting of the central zonal council was last held in Lucknow on September

24, 2018.

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