Amit Shah to chair Northern Zonal Council meet in Faridabad on Monday

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) that will be held on Monday in Faridabad, Haryana, officials said.

Chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, lieutenant governors of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, and the administrator of Chandigarh, among others, are likely to participate in the meeting.

Coordination among the state governments, water sharing issues and development work are expected to be discussed in the 32nd NZC meeting, officials said on Saturday.

The meeting bears significance as it will be held days after a 'white-collar' terror module was busted following the recovery of a huge amount of explosives in Faridabad in a coordinated operation by multiple state and central agencies.

Explosives linked to the terror module are suspected to have been used in the Red Fort blast on November 10 that left 13 people dead.

The explosives seized in Faridabad, which were taken to Jammu and Kashmir, also led to an accidental blast in a police station in Nowgam, killing nine people and injuring 32 others.

The explosion occurred around 11:20 pm on Friday when a specialised team was extracting samples from the "unstable" cache of explosives.

On the NZC meeting, officials said the role of zonal councils has changed from an advisory nature to "action platforms" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

The Northern Zonal Council has an important role from the point of view of development and security of the country, with 21 per cent of the country's land and 13 per cent of the population, more than 35 per cent of the food grains are produced in the northern region, they said.

A majority of personnel in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Army, who guard the country's borders, come from the states and Union territories in the region.

Officials said zonal councils provide the opportunity for personal interaction at the highest level among members and serve as a useful forum for resolving difficult and complex issues in an atmosphere of amity and goodwill.

Through discussion and exchange of views, the zonal councils help in developing a coordinated approach among states on important socioeconomic issues, they added. PTI ACB SKY SKY