The Eastern Zonal Council, which comprises of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, is scheduled to be held in Patna on January 16.
Chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the 21st meeting of the council will discuss a many issues, ranging from inter-state and Centre-state cooperation, allocation of additional assistance to the states to provide relief to tribals, issues relating to security and so on.
The Government of India had constituted a commission on Centre-state relations under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India MM Punchhi to look into the changing dynamics of the relations in the context of emerging social, political, economic, environmental and governance issues in the country.
The commission had recommended that Zonal Councils should hold regular meetings to maximize coordination and promote harmonization of policies and action having inter-state ramifications.
