Zonal councils have now become an engine of cooperation: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 27th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in Ranchi on Thursday. Shah reiterated the commitment to make the country free from Naxalism by 31 March next year. He also praised upon the unprecedented success achieved against Naxalism. Shah said that it has been possible due to the unity shown by all the states and the bravery of the security forces. The Union Minister said that more efforts need to be made by the States of the Eastern region towards the full implementation of the three new criminal laws. Shah also said that the Regional Councils have now become actionable platforms. He informed that between 2004 and 2014, a total of 25 meetings of the Regional Councils were held, whereas in between 2014 and 2025, the number of meetings has doubled to 63.

The pending issues related to Masanjore Dam, Taiyabpur Barrage and Indrapuri Reservoir were discussed in detail in the meeting. Besides, issues related to sharing of liabilities between Bihar and Jharkhand were also discussed in detail and decisions were taken to take decisive steps through mutual consent towards attaining their resolution.He said that the Zonal Councils have now become an Engine of Cooperation instead of a Forum of Discussion. Shah said Eastern states should make more efforts towards early implementation of three new criminal laws. He said that more work also needs to be done in the matter of narcotics in these states,

The meeting was attended by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and West Bengal Finance Minister, Chief Secretaries and other senior officials of member states and senior officials of the Central Government. After the meeting, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said that the long pending Indrapuri Dam Sagar Reservoir issue has been resolved. West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that in the meeting, the Union Home Minister has directed that pending issues should be resolved by establishing coordination between the states.