Eastern Zonal Council's Kolkata meet to take up various regional issues

Union home minister Amit Shah will take up issues such as pension dispute between Bihar and Jharkhand employees, cattle smuggling on the India-Bangladesh border and speedy investigation of rape and sexual assault cases at the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Kolkata on Saturday, said officials.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren are likely to be present, they said.

The meeting was earlier planned for November 5 but was cancelled due to Shah's busy schedule amid the Gujarat election. Shah will meet Bihar CM Kumar for the first time since the latter severed ties with the BJP-led NDA in August and formed an alliance with Lalu Prasad's RJD. Kumar hadn't attended the Chintan Shivir (brainstorming camp) on internal security called by Shah in Haryana in October where most CMs from BJP-ruled states were present.


The West Bengal CM will host the one-day meeting, said officials. Shah will also lay emphasis on issues relating to law and order, and administrative reforms. Other issues likely to be discussed include the use of state government land by the central government's coal companies, PM Awas Yojana and lack of telecom and bank connectivity in rural areas.

During the last review in Odisha in February 2020, the council discussed 48 issues and managed to resolve 40 during the meeting, according to a MHA statement. Each CM is likely to be accompanied by two Cabinet ministers from the respective state, along with members of the council, chief secretary and other officials. Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla is also likely to attend the meeting.