Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Punjab’s Amritsar on September 26, said the Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement on Sunday. The Northern Zonal Council includes the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territories of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, and Chandigarh. The meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the home ministry in collaboration with the Punjab government.
The meeting will be attended by chief ministers of the member states along with two senior ministers and lieutenant governors and administrators of the Union Territories. Chief secretaries and other senior officials of the state governments and Union Territories will also participate in the meeting along with officials from the Central government.
A host of issues are on the cards for discussion during the meeting including Bhakra-Beas Management Board, affiliation to Punjab University, road construction work under PMGSY, canal projects and water sharing.
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Issues related to the reorganisation of states, development of infrastructure, land acquisition, environmental and forest-related clearance, regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme and other issues of common interest at the regional level will also be discussed in the meeting.
Other issues of national importance include operationalization of Fast Track Special Courts (FSTC) for speedy investigation and speedy disposal of rape cases against women and children, facility of banks/India Post Payment Bank branches within 5 km of each village, creation of two lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs) in the country are also on the cards.
Eliminating malnutrition among children through nutrition campaign, reducing the drop-out rate of school children, participation of government hospitals in Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB PM-JAY) as well as other issues of common interest at the national level are also to be discussed in the meeting.