Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said zonal councils have transformed from being mere discussion forums into “engines of cooperation”, noting that 83% of issues taken up in their meetings have been resolved.
Shah made the remark at the 27th Eastern Zonal Council meeting, attended by representatives from the four eastern states — Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal — including Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Majhi.
“Under the Modi government, regional councils have evolved from mere ‘forum of discussion’ into ‘engines of cooperation’. The resolution of 83% of issues during regional council meetings underlines the effectiveness and growing importance of these forums,” Shah said.
Shah said the number of zonal council meetings rose to 63 between 2014 and 2025 as compared to 25 between 2004 and 2014.
At the meeting, long-pending issues related to Masanjore Dam, Taiyabpur Barrage and Indrapuri Reservoir were discussed in detail, in addition to issues related to division of assets and liabilities of many public sector undertakings (PSUs) between Bihar and Jharkhand states, which were pending since the time of division of Bihar.
CM Soren raised the issue of pending payment of over `1.40 lakh crore by the Central government to the state, along with 30 other demands. In August last year, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Jharkhand, directing the Central government to clear unpaid mineral royalties owed by PSUs since 2005 in phased payments over 12 years.
Soren said coal mining in Jharkhand is primarily conducted by subsidiaries of Coal India Limited, including CCL, BCCL, and ECL. These companies owe the state government substantial pending dues under various heads — `1,01,000 crore for non-payment of land compensation, `34,213 crore under the Common Cause fund, and `6,219 crore as royalty for washed coal. “I respectfully request the Hon’ble Home Minister to ensure this due amount is cleared at the earliest,” said Soren.
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He said the Jharkhand government strongly opposes the proposed amendment to the Coal Bearing Areas (CBA) Act, which seeks to empower coal companies to allocate mined land to other companies for commercial use. “As per the Constitution, land is a subject under the state’s jurisdiction. Therefore, after mining operations conclude, the land must be restructured and returned to the state government,” he said.
Referring to the recent deaths of four illegal miners in an abandoned mine in Ramgarh district, the CM said coal companies are also responsible for formally closing such mines.
This negligence, he noted, has led to loss of lives and property and has encouraged illegal mining. “Hence, I urge the government of India to ensure that abandoned mines undergo proper closure procedures to safeguard the environment and prevent illegal activities,” Soren said.
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