What are Zonal Councils?

• Proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 to promote cooperation among states after reorganization.
• Established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, with the goal of resolving inter-state disputes and ensuring balanced socio-economic development.

• Five Zonal Councils + North-Eastern Council (NEC).
• Chairperson: Union Home Minister.
• Vice-Chairperson: Chief Ministers (rotating one-year term).
• Each state is represented by its Chief Minister + 2 ministers, with NITI Aayog participation.
• Standing Committees of Chief Secretaries review issues before full meetings.

• Northern: Haryana, HP, J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh.
• Central: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, UP, MP.
• Eastern: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal.
• Western: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu.
• Southern: AP, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry.
• North-Eastern Council (NEC): Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim (added in 2002).

• Resolves inter-state disputes, improves Centre-State coordination, addresses border issues, economic planning, transport, and linguistic minorities.
• Strengthens cooperative federalism and regional development.
• 2018: Union Home Minister became NEC Chairperson.
• Modi government transformed Zonal Councils from advisory bodies to action-oriented platforms.

PYQ:

[2013] Which of the following bodies is/are not mentioned in the Indian Constitution?

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