Coastal security, sharing of river water and inter-state crime management are among key issues to be discussed in the 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting which will be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday morning.
The Southern Zonal Council meeting will be held at around 11 am in Kovalam, 16 km south of Thiruvananthapuram.
The Home Minister is the chairman of the council, which comprises Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Union territory of Puducherry.
Besides Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chief Ministers are likely to attend the meeting while Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana CMs are learnt to depute their representatives for the meeting.
The meeting will be attended by chief secretaries, principal secretaries and senior officers of the member states and senior officers of the central government, a Mome Ministry official said.
Issues of common interest in areas of sharing of river water, coastal security, connectivity, power and other issues will be discussed in the meeting, said the Official.
The central government has been regularly holding meetings of the zonal councils every year as part of its strategy to strengthen competitive federalism in the country.
The forum provides a platform for discussion in a structured manner on issues affecting one or more states, or issues between the Centre and the States. In the last eight years, the number of meetings of the zonal councils increased by three times, officials said.
Regional councils help in developing a coordinated approach through discussion and exchange of views between states on important issues of social and economic development, they said.
There are five zonal councils in India that were set up in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. (ANI)