Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 32nd meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) in Faridabad, Haryana, on Monday. The meeting will see participation from senior officials of the Central government, the states and Union Territories that form the Northern Zone – Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh.
The meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat of the Ministry of Home Affairs, with the Government of Haryana hosting the event.
Established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Northern Zonal Council is one of five zonal councils created to strengthen cooperation between states and between the Centre and states. Amit Shah serves as its chairperson, while the Chief Minister of Haryana is the vice-chairperson. The vice-chairpersonship rotates annually among member states, and each Governor nominates two ministers to the council. A permanent committee of Chief Secretaries aids the council by reviewing issues before they are placed for wider deliberation.
The meeting aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “TEAM BHARAT,” which emphasises stronger inter-state collaboration to build a stronger nation. The Zonal Councils serve as platforms for dialogue on issues that cut across state boundaries, helping build consensus and improving governance across regions.
While advisory in nature, the Zonal Councils have emerged as key mechanisms for fostering cooperation, resolving disputes and advancing development initiatives. Over the past eleven years, 63 meetings of the zonal councils and their permanent committees have been held, reflecting increased engagement from both states and central ministries.
The Zonal Councils discuss a wide range of regional and national issues, including faster investigation and disposal of cases involving sexual offences against women and children, improving brick-and-mortar banking access in every village, implementation of the 112 Emergency Response Support System, and strengthening social sectors such as health, nutrition, electricity, education and urban planning. The cooperative sector and other matters of shared interest are also taken up.