Description

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Picture Courtesy: NEWSONAIR

Context

The Northern Zonal Council meeting on November 17, 2025, in Faridabad, Haryana, chaired by the Union Home Minister.

What is Zonal Councils?

Zonal Councils are high-level advisory bodies that strengthen federal structure by promoting cooperation, dialogue, dispute resolution, and coordinating development and security among states, UTs, and the Union Government.

Legal Status: Zonal Councils are statutory bodies, established under Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

The Act established five Zonal Councils: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern.
A separate statutory body, the North Eastern Council, was established later under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.

Composition and Structure of Zonal Councils

Chairman: The Union Home Minister is the common Chairman for all Zonal Councils.
Vice-Chairman: The Chief Minister of a member state within the zone, chosen by rotation, holds office for a term of one year.
Members:

Chief Ministers from each state in the zone.
Two other ministers from each state, nominated by the Governor.
Administrators of the Union Territories within the zone.

Advisors: Senior officials like a nominee from NITI Aayog, Chief Secretaries, and Development Commissioners of the member states participate as non-voting advisors.

The Five Zonal Councils and their Members

Zonal Council	Member States / UTs
Northern Zonal Council	Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, NCT of Delhi, and UTs of Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Central Zonal Council	Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Eastern Zonal Council	Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.
Western Zonal Council	Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Southern Zonal Council	Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and UT of Puducherry.

What is the Significance of Zonal Councils for Cooperative Federalism?

Facilitating Dialogue and Consensus

Serves as a platform for discussion and recommendation on shared concerns like economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities, and inter-state transport.

Acts as a "safety valve" for resolving issues and mitigating friction between states and between the Centre and the states.

Harmonizing Policies

Works to align state policies on national matters, including internal security, disaster management, and the execution of key national initiatives like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Addressing National Priorities

Recent agendas including urgent national concerns, such as accelerating investigations into sexual offenses, broadening access to rural banking, and enhancing healthcare provision through schemes like Ayushman Bharat.

Role in Conflict Resolution and Security

Inter-State Water Disputes: The Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal dispute between Punjab and Haryana is discussed at the Northern Zonal Council.

Combating Left-Wing Extremism (LWE): Eastern Zonal Council's regular intelligence sharing and joint operations have resulted in 76% decline in LWE violence since 2010. (Source: Union Home Minister)

What are the Challenges Limiting Zonal Councils Effectiveness?

Advisory Nature: Recommendations are not legally binding, making their implementation dependent on the political will of the Centre and states.

Irregular Meetings: While historically irregular, meetings have increased between 2014 and 2024, with 63 meetings of the councils and their standing committees held. (Source: PIB).

Implementation Gap: A lack of a robust mechanism to monitor the implementation of decisions leads to a gap between resolutions and on-ground action.

Overshadowed by Other Bodies: The role of Zonal Councils is sometimes overshadowed by constitutional bodies with greater authority, like the GST Council.

Expert Committees Recommendations to Revitalize Zonal Council

Commission	Key Recommendations
Sarkaria Commission (1983)	Advocated for reactivating Zonal Councils, urging more regular meetings and serious consideration of their advice to promote cooperative federalism.
M.M. Punchhi Commission (2007)	Zonal Councils should meet at least twice yearly for better inter-state coordination, with the Inter-State Council secretariat aiding Zonal Council follow-up.

Way Forward

Zonal Councils are essential components of federal structure, strengthening cooperative federalism and providing a non-partisan platform for dialogue.

Recent increases in meeting frequency suggest a renewed effort to enhance their effectiveness. To realize their full potential:

Implemented recommendations from the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions regarding empowering the council.
Establish a dedicated institutional mechanism to monitor the execution of the councils' decisions.

Sustained political will from both the central government and the states is required to transform these councils into potent instruments for national integration and balanced regional development.

Source: NEWSONAIR

Attempt Daily Quiz

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. What are Zonal Councils? Critically examine their role in promoting cooperative federalism in India. 150 words

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Zonal Councils are high-level advisory bodies created to promote cooperation among states and between the Centre and states. They are statutory bodies, established by the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, and not constitutional bodies.

The Union Home Minister is the common Chairman for all five Zonal Councils (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern). The Chief Ministers of the member states act as Vice-Chairmen on a rotational basis.

Their effectiveness can be enhanced by implementing the recommendations of the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, which suggest holding meetings more regularly (at least twice a year) and establishing a robust institutional mechanism to monitor the implementation of their recommendations.