Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council on Monday in Dona Paula, Goa. The meeting included representatives from Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Discussions focused on regional cooperation and governance issues among the participating states and territories.
The meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is being hosted by the Government of Goa.
From among the member States, the Chief Minister of one State serves as the Vice- Chairman of the Council on a rotational basis every year. The Zonal Council comprised the Chief Ministers of each State in the Western region and two senior Ministers from each State as members. Senior officers from the Government of India and the State Governments/Union Territories also participated in the meeting of the Council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned TEAM BHARAT for the country based on the principle of cooperative federalism, and the Zonal Councils are making an important contribution in this direction.
The Councils also discuss broad issues of national importance, including the expeditious investigation of cases of rape against women and children and the implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for their speedy disposal; implementation of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112); issues related to food safety standards; provision of brick-and-mortar banking facilities within a designated radius of every village; and issues relating to nutrition, education, health, power sector reforms, urban planning, strengthening the cooperative system, cybercrime and digital infrastructure, among others.
Shah is the Chairman of the Western Zonal Council, while the Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, is its Vice-Chairman, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
