Zonal Councils

Definition

Statutory advisory bodies that promote cooperation and coordination among groups of neighbouring States on economic, social and security matters.

Key points

• Statutory (not constitutional) bodies created by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956; there are five Zonal Councils: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern.
• The Union Home Minister is the common chairman of all five Zonal Councils.
• The Chief Ministers of the member States act as vice-chairmen by rotation, each holding office for one year.
• They discuss matters of common interest such as inter-State transport, border disputes, linguistic minorities and economic and social planning.
• The North-Eastern Council is a separate body set up under the North-Eastern Council Act, 1971, and is not one of the five Zonal Councils.

Why it matters for CAPF

The 1956 statutory origin, the five councils, the Home Minister as common chairman and the separate North-Eastern Council are standard centre-state coordination facts.

Common confusion

Zonal Councils are statutory (States Reorganisation Act, 1956), not constitutional like the Inter State Council (Art 263); the North-Eastern Council is separate (1971) and not the sixth Zonal Council.

Parent note

federalism and centre state relations