SYLLABUS

GS-2: Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies; Functions and Responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure.

Context: The 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council (SZC) is being held in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, on 20 August 2026, under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah.

About the Zonal Council

• Zonal Councils are statutory advisory bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

• The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 during the debate on the report of the States Reorganisation Commission.

• They were created to promote:

• cooperative working among States,
• national integration,
• Centre-State and inter-State cooperation,
• and resolution of inter-State issues through dialogue and consultation.

• India has five Zonal Councils — Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern — while the North Eastern Council functions separately under a different statutory framework.

• The North Eastern Council was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.
• Its member States include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim.
• Sikkim was included through the North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002.

• The Union Home Minister serves as the Chairman of all Zonal Councils, while the Chief Ministers and two other Ministers from the member States are members of the Council.

• In the case of Union Territories, two members are included from the Union Territories in the zone.
• The Chief Ministers of the member States act as Vice-Chairman by rotation, with each holding office for one year at a time.

• Each Zonal Council has a Standing Committee comprising the Chief Secretaries of the member States, which undertakes preliminary deliberations on issues and does the necessary groundwork for Zonal Council meetings.

• The Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs organises the meetings of the Zonal Councils.

Functions

• Each Zonal Council is an advisory body and may discuss matters in which member States, or the Centre and one or more member States, have a common interest.

• It may make recommendations regarding:

• matters of common interest in economic and social planning;
• border disputes, linguistic minorities and inter-State transport;
• matters connected with or arising out of the reorganisation of States.

• The Councils also provide a forum for resolving Centre-State and inter-State issues and disputes through discussion and consultation.

About the Southern Zonal Council

• The Southern Zonal Council comprises: 

• States: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana
• Union Territories: Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep

• The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of the Southern Zonal Council, while the Chief Minister of a member State serves as Vice-Chairman by rotation.

• The 31st meeting discussed issues of common regional and national importance, including infrastructure development, water-resource sharing, economic growth, industrial investment, education, healthcare, information technology, disaster management, crime prevention and inter-State matters. 

• Issues relating to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, including the division of institutions, assets and liabilities and pending financial matters, were also among the matters raised by Andhra Pradesh.

Significance of Zonal Councils

• Strengthen cooperative federalism: They provide an institutional mechanism for Centre-State and inter-State dialogue.

• Resolve inter-State issues: They facilitate discussion and consensus-building on disputes involving water, transport, boundaries and development projects.

• Promote regional cooperation: States with economic, political and geographical linkages can address common regional challenges collectively.

• Support national integration: The Councils were created partly to address regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies following the reorganisation of States.

• Strengthen Team Bharat: The Councils contribute to the broader objective of cooperative federalism, based on the principle that strong States build a strong nation.

• Advisory mechanism: Although their recommendations are not binding, their high-level deliberations provide an important forum for free and frank discussion and consensus-building.