Union minister Amit Shah chairs Central Zonal Council meet in Bhopal

Bhopal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a Central Zonal Council meeting in Bhopal which the Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh chief ministers attended virtually as they could not arrive due to heavy rains in the Madhya Pradesh capital.

Shah arrived at around 1.30 am on Monday in Bhopal amid heavy rains.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma were among those who welcomed Shah at the airport.

The Central Zonal Council comprises Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Chouhan earlier in a statement said it is an important meeting in which issues like the welfare of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, farmers' welfare, crime against women and children, internal security, and prevention of terrorism and Naxalism will be discussed at length, which will benefit all the four states.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived on Sunday to take part in the meeting, an official said.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel attended the meeting virtually on Monday as planes could not land at the Bhopal airport due to heavy rains, he said.

As per the established procedure and practice, the zonal council meeting is preceded by a standing committee of the council in which the agenda items to be placed before the council are scrutinised and prioritised.

The Narendra Modi government has been regularly holding meetings of the zonal councils as a part of its overall strategy to strengthen and promote cooperative and competitive federalism in the country, another official said.

There are five zonal councils in the country which were set up in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

Union home minister is the chairman of each of these zonal councils and chief ministers of the host state (to be chosen by rotation every year) is the vice-chairman.

Two more ministers from each state are nominated as members by the governor.