Zonal councils help improve Centre-state relations: HM Rajnath Singh

PANAJI: The NDA government has laid emphasis on holding regular interactions with states through zonal councils and such exercise will be fruitful in achieving better coordination between the states and the Centre, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

"Such zonal council meetings have been helpful in achieving better coordination between the states and the Centre," he said here.

He was addressing the 21st meeting of the western zonal council, a forum for the Centre and the states to cooperate and exchange ideas and experiences and find ways to check disruptive forces. This is the fourth zonal council meeting ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014.

Highlighting the deliberations of the earlier zonal council meetings, the Home Minister expressed hope that this meeting will also be fruitful.

"The western zone is the economic hub of India. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa are some of the most developed states of the country," he said.

The meeting is being attended by Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Goa -- Anandiben Patel and Laxmikant Parsekar respectively, besides administrators of Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and representatives of various central ministries.

Issues relating to regional development of infrastructure for giving a boost to urban housing sector, construction of bridges, issuance of biometric identity cards and card-readers to fishermen were discussed at the meeting.

Other issues discussed include stamp duty on imports, applicability of entry tax on imports and problems pertaining to parking and congestion at ports.