Bhubaneswar: The scheduled visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Bhubaneswar on February 12 to attend the Eastern Zonal Council meeting has been postponed.
Shah was slated to chair the meeting of Eastern Zonal Council and later meet BJP party functionaries in Bhubaneswar during his proposed day-long visit to the State.
Besides, the Chief Ministers of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Sikkim are likely to attend the meeting of Eastern Zonal Council aimed to review the law and order situation in the region.
Five Zonal Councils were set up in 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Re-Organisation Act 1956.
As per the provision, the Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these five Zonal Councils and Chief Ministers of the host State (to be chosen by routine every year) is the Vice-Chairman.
The Council takes up issues involving Centre and States. The Zonal Councils provide a forum for resolving disputes and irritants between Centre and States and among many States in the Zone. The Zonal Councils discuss broad range of issues which include boundary related disputes, security, infrastructure related matters like road, transport, industries, water and power, matters pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism and transport.
