83% of issues discussed in regional council meetings in last 11 years resolved: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said 83 per cent of the issues discussed in regional council meetings over the past 11 years have been resolved, marking a significant improvement compared to the UPA era.

Chairing the 25th meeting of the Central Zonal Council in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Shah moved the resolution praising the unwavering resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the bravery of the Indian Armed Forces, which was unanimously adopted.

The Central Zonal Council, which includes Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, is unique in that there are no disputes among its member states, Shah claimed. He urged states to eliminate child malnutrition, reduce school dropout rates to zero, and strengthen the cooperative sector.

The meeting of the Central Zonal Council was attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

In the meeting, Shah said while only 11 meetings of the Zonal Councils and 14 meetings of the Standing Committees of the Zonal Councils were held between 2004 and 2014, a total of 28 Zonal Council meetings and 33 Standing Committee meetings have been held between 2014 and 2025, marking a two-fold increase.

He also highlighted that 1,287 issues have been resolved in these meetings so far, which is both historic and encouraging.

Shah also urged the member states to increase the revenue of gram panchayats and to formulate rules for this purpose. He said enhancing the revenue of panchayats would make India’s three-tier democratic Panchayati Raj system more effective.

A total of 19 issues were discussed in Tuesday’s meeting, including several matters of national importance. These included the implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for the speedy investigation and prompt disposal of rape cases against women and children, provision of brick-and-mortar banking facilities within the designated radius of every village and implementation of the emergency response support system, among other key issues.