Amit Shah arrives in Amritsar for Northern Zonal Council meeting

Union Home Minister Amit Shah who will preside over the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council being held here arrived in the city on Tuesday, officials said.

Tight security arrangements have been made in Amritsar in the wake of the NZC meeting, said officials.

Punjab cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal received the Union home minister at the airport here.

The NZC which comprises Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh.

The council discusses a wide range of issues, including matters related to the Bhakra-Beas Management Board, affiliation to Panjab University, road construction work under PMGSY, canal projects and water sharing, matters related to reorganisation of states, and infrastructure development.

Other issues include land acquisition, environmental and forest clearance, regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme and issues of common interest at the regional level.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday had said that he would raise all issues concerning the state with Shah.

Prominent issues which the CM may raise include the process of land allotment to the Haryana government in Chandigarh for setting up an additional building of its state assembly and the decision of the Himachal Pradesh government to levy water cess on hydropower projects, said official sources. Regional councils provide a forum for discussion in a structured manner on issues affecting one or more states or issues between the Centre and the states.

They also help in developing a coordinated approach through discussion and exchange of views between states on important issues of social and economic development.