Politics
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
Amit Shah chairs Southern Zonal Council in Tamil Nadu
Times of India··20 Aug
On 20 August 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting at Kovalam in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay hosted as vice-chairman. Chief ministers DK Shivakumar, N Chandrababu Naidu, VD Satheesan and A Revanth Reddy attended with Union Territory representatives. The council covers five states and three UTs.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you live in a southern state, this is the statutory forum where your chief minister sits with the Union Home Minister and neighbouring CMs on Centre-state and inter-state files.
- River-water sharing among Karnataka-Tamil Nadu, Telangana-Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu-Kerala was among the disputes named before the meeting.
- Puducherry, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the three Union Territories in the same council.
What's Happening
- The meeting was held at Taj Fisherman's Cove in Kovalam, hosted by the Tamil Nadu government.
- Vijay felicitated Shah at the opening. The two had held a courtesy meeting in Chennai on 19 August.
- Agenda items also included regional development, education and coordination on national issues such as crimes against women and children, official notes said.
What A Zonal Council Is For
- Five zonal councils were created after states reorganisation in 1956 as recommendatory bodies, not courts, to ease Centre-state and inter-state disagreements.
- The Union Home Minister chairs each council. The host state's chief minister serves as vice-chairman by rotation.
- A standing committee of chief secretaries prepares the agenda before the ministerial meeting.
all-newstop-storiestrending-now
