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Zonal Councils are advisory councils and are made up of the states of India that have been grouped into five zones to foster cooperation among them. These were set up vide Part-III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Members[edit]
The Union Home Minister is the common chairman of 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.
Zonal councils[edit]
The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:-[1]
| # | Name | Member States/UTs | Headquarters[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Northern Zonal Council | New Delhi | |
| 2. | Southern Zonal Council | Chennai | |
| 3. | Central Zonal Council | Prayagraj | |
| 4. | Eastern Zonal Council | Kolkata | |
| 5. | Western Zonal Council | Mumbai | |
| 6. | North Eastern Council | Shillong |
The Northeastern states are not covered by any of the Zonal Councils and their special problems are addressed by another statutory body, the North Eastern Council at Shillong, created by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.[3] This council originally comprised Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura; later the state of Sikkim was also added vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23 December 2002.[4]
The union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are not members of any of the Zonal Councils.[5] However, they are presently special invitees to the Southern Zonal Council.[6]
See also[edit]
- Cultural Zones of India
- List of special economic zones in India
- List of ecoregions in India
- Administrative divisions of India
References[edit]
- ^ "Zonal Council". Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ M Laxmikanth (2020). Indian Polity (6th ed.). McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited. p. 15.5. ISBN 978-93-89538-47-2.
- ^ "NEC -- North Eastern Council". Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ "Zonal Council |". mha.nic.in. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ "The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Act No.37 Of 1956)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ "Present Composition of the Southern Zonal Council" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2020.