Panaji, Sep 7: Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Goa on Monday.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Administrator Praful Patel were participating in the meeting, which was also attended by high-ranking officials from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and state governments, officials said.
The meeting began at 11 am at a hotel near Panaji.
Shah is on a three-day-long visit to Goa.
The meeting will deliberate on inter-state coordination, cooperative governance and sharing of best practices among the participating states and Union Territories.
Presentations by the Inter-State Council Secretariat and delegations from the participating states and Union Territories will also form part of the proceedings, the officials said.
Shah, who arrived in Goa on Saturday, chaired a crucial meeting of the Union Home Affairs Ministry on Sunday on the issue of a drug-free country.
He has announced a roadmap to eradicate the narcotics menace from the country as a part of the Viksit Bharat initiative.
The Western Zonal Council comprises Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, along with the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Five zonal councils, including the Western Zonal Council, were established under sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Shah is the chairman of the Western Zonal Council, while the Goa chief minister is its current vice-chairman. The vice-chairmanship rotates annually among the chief ministers of the member states.
The council has a Standing Committee at the level of chief secretaries.
Issues proposed by the states are first discussed by the committee. Matters that remain unresolved after the deliberations are then placed before the Zonal Council for consideration.
Although their role is advisory, the councils have emerged as an important platform for mutual understanding and cooperation across sectors, the officials said.
