Previous Year Question
Which one of the following is not a feature of a zonal council?
It is a constitutional body
Five Zonal Councils have set up under the States’ Reorganization Act, 1956
Chandigarh although not a state is included in Zonal Council
It is an Advisory body
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Zonal Councils are not constitutional bodies; they are statutory bodies, because they were not created by any Article of the Constitution but under Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. On the basis of this Act, five Zonal Councils—Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern—were established.
These Councils are advisory in nature. They discuss matters of common interest between the Union and States and among different States and advise or recommend the action to be taken; their recommendations do not by themselves have the binding force of law.
The objectives of the Zonal Councils extend beyond administrative coordination. They include promoting national integration, checking regionalism and linguism, encouraging Centre-State and inter-State cooperation, and creating a cooperative environment for the effective execution of development projects.
Chandigarh, although not a State, is included in the Northern Zonal Council. Therefore, option (c) states an actual feature of the Zonal Council system. Union Territories may also be represented in the relevant Zonal Councils.
An important examination fact is that the Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each Zonal Council, while the Chief Ministers of the States in the concerned zone act as Vice-Chairman by rotation for one year.