Ians

Chandigarh: Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah will be chairing the 29th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) here to be hosted by the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday.

Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and the Delhi governments constitute the Northern Zonal Council.

The Chief Ministers from the member States, along with two Ministers each, will attend the event. Administrators of Union Territories, Chief Secretaries and senior officers of the state and the Central governments will also attend the meeting.

The Council takes up issues involving the Centre and the states that comes under it's ambit. It works as a forum also to resolve disputes and irritants between the Centre and the states.

The Zonal Councils discuss a broad range of issues, which include boundary-related disputes, security, infrastructure-related matters like roads, transport, industries, water and power, matters pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism, among others.

Five Zonal Councils were set up in the year 1957 under the States Reorganization Act, 1956.

The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of the five Zonal Councils, while the Chief Minister of the host state, who is chosen so every year, is the Vice-Chairman. Two more Ministers from each state are nominated as Council members by the Governor.

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