Focus On Women Safety And Rural Banking
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Home Minister Amit Shah will lead the 25th Central Zonal Council meet in Varanasi. States will discuss women safety, rural banking, healthcare, and more.
New Delhi: Today, on June 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will lead the 25th meeting of the Central Zonal Council on Tuesday in Varanasi, where important topics affecting the nation and several states will be taken up for discussion.
According to an official statement, the meeting will be attended by chief ministers of all member states, along with two senior ministers from each state, chief secretaries, and other senior officials from both the Centre and states.
The Central Zonal Council consists of the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. These zonal council meetings usually focus on large and urgent national matters.
One of the key areas of discussion includes the
“speedy investigation of cases of sexual offences against women and children” and the “implementation of fast-track special courts for their swift disposal”.
The official statement also said that the council would look into the
“providing brick-and-mortar banking facilities within the designated area of every village”,
so that rural areas also get proper access to financial services. Along with that, other subjects like the
“implementation of the Emergency Response Support System”
and regional-level issues of common interest are also on the agenda.
These include improving nutrition, education, healthcare, electricity supply, urban planning, and the cooperative system.
This high-level meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs, with the support of the Uttar Pradesh government.
For those unfamiliar, five zonal councils were created under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Each zonal council is chaired by the Union Home Minister, while the chief ministers, lieutenant governors, or administrators of the states and Union Territories are members.
As per the council rules, the chief minister of one member state acts as the vice-chairperson on a rotational basis every year.
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Moreover, the governor of each member state nominates two ministers to represent their state in the council.
Every zonal council also has a permanent committee, which consists of chief secretaries of the member states.
This permanent committee first reviews and discusses the issues raised by the states. Once reviewed, the remaining important matters are forwarded to the main zonal council meeting for final discussion and possible resolution.
The statement added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the importance of
“cooperative and competitive federalism for the all-round development of the country.”
The Prime Minister believes that
“strong states make a strong nation.”
The zonal councils give the Centre and states a platform for discussion and help resolve issues that involve more than one state or both the Centre and the states.
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According to the official statement,
“these serve as an important platform to enhance mutual cooperation.”
Even though the role of zonal councils is only advisory, the government said they have played a major role in the past few years by building
“healthy bonds of mutual understanding and cooperation in various fields.”
Finally, the government confirmed that, with the joint cooperation of the states, central ministries, and departments, a total of 61 meetings of various zonal councils and their permanent committees have taken place in the last 11 years.
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