26th Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) Meeting Held at Patna, Bihar

GS Paper II Federalism

Context: Recently, the Union Home Minister presided over the 26th Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting held at Patna, Bihar.

26th Eastern Zonal Council Meeting 2023: Key Highlights

Participants of EZC: States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, and West Bengal

Malnutrition: Eliminating malnutrition among children through Poshan Abhiyan.
Dropout: Reducing the dropout rate of school children.
Speedy Trials: Operationalisation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for speedy investigation.
Disposal Of Rape Case: Speedy disposal of rape cases against women and children.
Banking: To have the facility of Banks/India Post Payment Bank branches within 5 km of each village.
PACSs: Formation of two lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs).

Zonal councils are statutory bodies formed under States Reorganisation Act 1956.
Classification of zonal councils:
- The Northern Zonal Council: It comprises the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
- The Central Zonal Council: It comprises the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
- The Eastern Zonal Council: It comprises the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, and West Bengal.
- The Western Zonal Council: It comprises the States of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
- The Southern Zonal Council: States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Composition Of Zonal Councils:
- Chairman: The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
- Vice Chairman: The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as
  - Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.

Special Category Status?

It was introduced in 1969 on the recommendations of the Fifth Finance Commission.
SCS is a classification given by the Centre to assist the development of states that face geographical and socio-economic disadvantages. (The Constitution does not make a provision for SCS).

Indicator for Special Category Status

State with Special Category Status

Eleven States: Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana.

Telangana, the newest State of India, was accorded the status as it was carved out of another State — Andhra Pradesh.

Ninth Schedule:

The Ninth Schedule, which was incorporated in 1951 by the First Amendment to the Constitution to protect land reform laws.
The Ninth Schedule includes a list of Central and State laws which cannot be challenged in courts.
However, the Supreme Court in I R Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007) said that any law included in the Ninth Schedule after 24th April 1973 must be examined under Articles 14, 19, and 21.

Members: Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
Advisers: One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries, and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone

The NEC is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region which consists of the eight States:
- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Genesis: The NEC was constituted as a statutory advisory body under the North Eastern Council Act 1971 for the rapid development of the Region.
Nodal Ministry: It falls under the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region.
Composition: The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.
- The Union Home Minister is the ex-officio Chairman and the Minister of State(IC) Department of North East Region is the ex-officio Vice-Chairman of the NEC.

Integration: Bringing out national integration;
Peace and harmony: Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism, and particularistic tendencies;
Cooperative federalism: Enabling the Centre and the States to cooperate and exchange ideas and experiences;
All round development: Establishing a climate of cooperation amongst the States for the successful and speedy execution of development projects.

Also Read: What is the Special Category Status?

News source: PIB