Union Home Minister Amit Shah Chaired 26th Meeting of Western Zonal Council in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Ira Singh
28 Aug’23
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah chaired the 26th meeting of the Western Zonal Council at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on 28 Aug’23(Monday).The meeting was organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant, and administrator of Union Territory of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman, Diu Praful Patel attended the Meeting along with senior officials from state and Central Government.
During the meeting,Union Minister Amit Shah inaugurated an e-resource web portal, of the Inter-State Council Secretariat. This Portal contains minutes & agendas of various meetings of the Inter-State Council, 5 Zonal Councils & their Standing Committees since their inception. The digital portal can be used by Central Ministries and departments as well as State governments and UTs for policy intervention.A wide range of issues including infrastructure, water supply, environment and forests, and issues of general regional and national interests were discussed in the meeting.
The Western Zonal Council comprises the states of Gujarat, Goa, and Maharashtra, and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
During the meeting, the Home Minister asked the Zonal Council member States to work sensitively on three issues of national importance – POSHAN Abhiyaan, reducing the dropout rate of school children and taking benefits of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana to every poor.
The Minister said after the passage of the three new Bills – Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill – recently introduced by the Modi government in the Parliament, no case can continue for more than two years. The Home Minister asked all the States to work towards creating the necessary basic infrastructure and capacity for the implementation of these laws.
Saying that Member States of the Western Zonal Council share long coastlines where there are highly sensitive institutions and industries, Mr Shah underpinned the need for sustained efforts towards ensuring tight security. The wide range of issues pertaining to as well as national interest was discussed in the meeting.