Zonal Councils:
- Establishment: Established under the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
- Purpose: Promote cooperation and coordination among states, union territories, and the Centre.
Zones and Councils:
Five Zones: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern.
Members:
- Home Minister of Central Government: Common chairman of all five councils.
- Chief Ministers: From all states in the zone.
- Two Ministers: From each state in the zone.
- Administrator: From each union territory in the zone.
Vice-Chairman: Each chief minister acts as a vice-chairman of the council by rotation for a period of one year at a time.
Functions:
Discuss and make recommendations on issues such as:
- Economic and social planning.
- Linguistic minorities.
- Border disputes.
- Interstate transport.
Nature: Deliberative and advisory bodies, not constitutional.
North-Eastern Council:
Established by North-Eastern Council Act of 1971.
Members include:
- Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Sikkim.