Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah chairs 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting in Thiruvananthapuram today
Union
Home and Cooperation Minister greeted the people of Kerala on the upcoming Onam
festival. Kerala is anabode of natural beauty, Onam is not only a major
festival for Kerala but of Indian culture.
In the last eight years under the
leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nature of the Zonal
Councils has changed and the number of meetings held by the Councils have
increased significantly.
In the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign
launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citizens rose above their State
affiliations, caste, religion and showed an excellent example of unity and
patriotism by hoisting the tricolour from their homes.
Everyone needs to work together to take
the spirit of patriotism to the ground level over the next eleven months of
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, for the nation’s bright future.
In the 30th meeting of Southern Zonal
Council held at Thiruvananthapuram today, total 26 issues were discussed, 9
issues were resolved, 17 issues were reserved for further consideration out of
which 9 issues are related to reorganization of Andhra Pradesh
Union Home Minister urges Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana to mutually resolve their pending issues
The Prime Minister has a special
attachment to Southern India, that is why after becoming the Prime Minister in
2014, Narendra Modi, along with the Sagarmala project started various schemes
for the upgradation of major ports for the development of coastal States.
Prior to 2014, the percentage of issues
resolved in the meetings of the Zonal Councils was 43, now it has increased to
64 percent
104 issues were discussed in zonal
council meetings between 2006 and 2013, 555 issues were discussed from 2014 to
2022 and 64 percent of these were resolved through mutual consent.
108 projects worth Rs 76,000 crore have
been completed while 98 projects worth Rs 1,32,000 crore are under
construction, and projects worth Rs. 2 lakh crore are being implemented under ‘Sagarmala’
for coastal States
61 projects are under construction at a
total cost of Rs 7,737 crore for the overall development of coastal districts,
for the Blue Revolution under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
Since 2015, Rs 4,206 crore has been
sanctioned for the Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund scheme in the
Southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu
and Telangana and Rs 2,711 crore has been sanctioned for 56 projects to develop
basic infrastructure for ports and fisheries in Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh
Out of our 7,500 kms long coastline,
about 4,800 kms is located in the States belonging to the Southern Zonal
Council, 7 of the country's 12 major ports are in this region
Out of 3,461 fishing villages in India,
1,763 of them are in the Southern Zonal Council area and there is immense
potential for increasing trade and export of marine products.
The Union Home Minister called on all
States of the Southern Zonal Council to explore a joint solution to the issues
related to the sharing of waters.
A total of 89 issues were discussed at
the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Southern Zonal Council, out
of which 63 issues were settled through mutual consent, which is an important
achievement.
The main objectives of the Zonal Council
meetings are – amicable settlement of disputes between the Centre and the States
and inter-State disputes through mutual agreement, promotion of regional
cooperation between States, providing a forum for all States to brainstorm on
issues of common national importance and setting up of a collaborative system
for strengthening cooperation among all stakeholders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
placed the concept of Team India before the nation for its all round
development and the States together form Team India.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has tried
to crack down on the problem of narcotics with utmost vigilance, the States
should hold regular meetings of ‘the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) and take
them to the district level.
QR-Enabled PVC Aadhar Cards have been
given to more than 12 lakh fishermen, which will not only facilitate
identification of fishermen from coastal States, but will also strengthen
the country’s maritime security.
A policy for establishing forensic
science labs has been prepared and sent to the States, which will increase the
conviction rate.
The goal of the Modi government is to
have a bank branch for every five kilometres, for this, the member states of
the Southern Zonal Council should make efforts to provide banking facilities
within five kilometers of every village in their respective areas and persuade
cooperative banks to open branches.
The Union Minister for Home and Cooperation, Amit Shah,
chaired the 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting in Thiruvananthapuram today.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, the Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the
Administrator of Lakshadweep, Chief Secretaries of Southern Zonal Council
States, Union Home Secretary, Secretary Inter-State Council Secretariat and
other Senior officials of State and Central Ministries and Departments.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister in his opening
address extended ‘Onam’ greetings to the people of Kerala- the abode of natural
beauty. He said Onam is a major festival not only of Kerala but of Indian
culture.
Amit Shah said this year is very important in the history
of the country as this year is being celebrated as the year of Azadi ka
Amrit Mahotsav. He said that in the 'Har Ghar Tricolor' campaign launched by
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, countryman rose above their State
affiliations, caste, religion and set an excellent example of unity and
patriotism by hoisting the tricolor in their homes. Shri Shah thanked all the
States for celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. He said that for the
bright future of the country, everyone needs to work together to bring this
spirit of patriotism at the ground level in the next eleven months of Azadi ka
Amrit Mahotsav.
The Union Home Minister said that under the leadership of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nature of the Zonal Councils has changed in
the last eight years and the number of its meetings has increased
significantly. Before 2014, the zonal councils used to have an average of two
meetings in a year, which this government has increased to 2.7. On an average,
the Standing Committees used to have 1.4 sittings, this government has also almost
doubled this to 2.75. Prior to 2014, the percentage of issues resolved in the
meetings of the Zonal Councils was 43, now it has increased to 64 percent.
Between 2006 and 2013, 104 issues were discussed in the zonal council meetings,
from 2014 to 2022, 555 issues were discussed and 64 percent of these were
resolved by mutual consent. He said out of the 9 coastal States, 4 States and 4
out of 3 Union Territories are members of the Southern Zonal Council, which
means that out of the total 7,500 kms long coastline ,about 4,800 kms coastline
comes under these States. Shah said out of 12 major ports of India, 7 major
ports are in this region. With this, now out of the total 3,461 fishing
villages in India, 1,763 fishing villages are in this zone and there is immense
potential for increasing trade and export of marine products.
Amit Shah said the Prime Minister has a special
attachment to Southern India, that is why after becoming the Prime Minister in
2014, Narendra Modi, along with the Sagarmala Project has started various
schemes for the upgradation of major ports for the development of coastal
States. Out of these, 108 projects worth Rs 76,000 crore have been completed
while 98 projects worth Rs 13,2000 crore are under implementation. Thus in total
projects worth more than Rs 2,00,000 crore are being implemented under
Sagarmala for coastal States. He said 61 projects are under implementation at a
tune of Rs 7,737 crore for the overall development of coastal districts.
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana is being run for the Blue Revolution.
Since 2015, Rs 4,206 crore has been sanctioned for the Fisheries Infrastructure
Development Fund Scheme in the Southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
56 projects have been approved for the development of basic infrastructure of
ports and fisheries in the States at a cost of Rs. 2,711 crore.
The Union Home Minister said that in the 30th meeting of
the Southern Zonal Council held in Thiruvananthapuram today, 26 issues were
discussed, 9 issues were resolved, 17 issues were reserved for further
consideration, out of which 9 issues were related to the reorganization of
Andhra Pradesh. Shah urged Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to settle their pending
issues, which will not only benefit the people of their States but will also
lead to all-round development of the entire Southern region. He called upon all
the member States of the Council to find a joint solution to the issues related
to sharing of water. Shah said that in the 12th meeting of its Standing
Committee, a total of 89 issues were discussed and out of this 63 issues were
settled by mutual agreement which is a significant achievement.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said the main
objectives of the Zonal Council meeting are – amicable settlement of disputes
between the Centre and the States and inter-State through mutual agreement,
promotion of regional cooperation between States, providing a forum for all
States to brainstorm on issues of common national importance and setting up a
collaboration system for strengthening cooperation among all stakeholders. Shri
Shah said that for the all-round development of the country, Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi has put the concept of Team India before the nation and all
the States together form Team India.
Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has
tried to crack down on the problem of Narcotics with utmost strictness. He
stressed on holding regular meetings of NCORD from all the States and taking
them to the district level. Shah informed that QR-enabled PVC Aadhar cards have
been given to more than 12 lakh fishermen. This will not only give recognition
to the fishermen of the coastal States but will also strengthen coastal
security. The Home Minister said that a policy for establishing forensic
science labs has been prepared and sent to the States. This will increase
the Conviction Rate. He said that the target of the Modi government is to
have a bank branch in every five kilometres, for this, the member States of the
Southern Zonal Council should make efforts to provide banking facilities within
five kilometres of every village in their area and persuade cooperative banks
to open branches. This will help in delivering the benefits of government
schemes directly to beneficiaries through DBT.