Panaji: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will chair the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Panaji, Goa, on Monday, September 7, 2026, with key inter-state and Centre-state issues expected to come up for discussion.
The Western Zonal Council comprises Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, along with the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs and hosted by the Goa government. The Chief Ministers of the member states and two senior ministers from each state are members of the council. Senior officials from the Centre, states and the Union Territory are also expected to participate.
The Western Zonal Council is one of five Zonal Councils established under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Amit Shah is the council’s chairman, while the Goa chief minister serves as vice-chairman. The vice-chairmanship rotates annually among the chief ministers of member states.
A Standing Committee headed by the chief secretaries of the member states examines issues raised by the states before they are placed before the full council. Matters that remain unresolved after deliberations are subsequently taken up at the council meeting.
The Zonal Councils provide a structured forum for dialogue on issues involving two or more states, as well as matters concerning the Centre and states. Though their role is advisory, they have increasingly been used to strengthen cooperation and resolve inter-state and Centre-state issues.
70 zonal council meetings held since June 2014
The Centre said 70 meetings of various Zonal Councils and their Standing Committees have been held since June 2014, with the participation of state governments, Union ministries and departments.
The councils also take up issues of wider national importance, including speedy investigation and disposal of rape cases involving women and children, implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), and the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112).
Other issues that have featured in zonal council deliberations include food safety standards, banking access in villages, nutrition, education, healthcare, power sector reforms, urban planning, strengthening the cooperative sector, cybercrime and digital infrastructure.
The Centre has said the Zonal Councils are an important mechanism for advancing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Team Bharat” based on cooperative federalism.
The councils are also intended to promote both cooperative and competitive federalism, with the broader objective of strengthening states and contributing to overall national development.
