Eastern Zonal Council: Members, Head, History with Timelines

Eastern Zonal Council is one of the 6 Zonal Councils constituted to promote cooperative federalism in the country. Zonal Councils are a statutory body constituted under the States Reorganization Act, 1956. It is an important topic for the UPSC Exam, which is included in the General Studies Paper 2 of the UPSC Syllabus.

This Council comprises the major eastern states of India, like Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956, 5 Zonal Councils were established. A sixth council, i.e., North Eastern Zonal Council, was established in 1972.

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Eastern Zonal Council Meeting 2025

The 27th Eastern Zonal Council was held in Ranchi, which was chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

• The prime objective of the meeting was to focus on the development of the region, federalism, security, and inter-state matters. The meeting saw participation from all the member states of the Eastern Zonal Council.

• More emphasis was laid on the TEAM BHARAT Vision for the collective development of the states to achieve the goal of a developed India by 2047.

• The meeting also focused on some of the long-standing inter-state issues, including the Masanjore Dam (Mayurakhi River), the Taiyabpur Barrage (Mahananda River), and the Indrapuri Reservoir (Son River).

• Unresolved PSU-related asset liability issue between Bihar and Jharkhand was also addressed in the meeting.

• To combat Narcotics and drug-abuse-related issues, all the eastern states were asked to implement the new criminal laws and hold National Narcotics Coordination Portal (NCORD) meetings regularly.

Eastern Zonal Councils Headquarters

The Headquarters of this Council is located in Kolkata, West Bengal. The member states include Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Which of the states is not a part of the Eastern Zonal Council, which includes all the North Eastern states, as they have a separate North Eastern Zonal Council, established in 1972.

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Eastern Zonal Council Members

The Council is comprised of 4 states, namely Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Membership of the council and the organizational structure are as follows:

Eastern Zonal Council UPSC

Eastern Zonal Council, along with all the other 5 Zonal Councils are important topic for the UPSC Exam. In the exam, questions related to the functions of these Zonal Councils can be asked. The functions can be summarized as follows:

• It is an advisory body and discusses those matters in which some or all the member states have a common interest.

• It may advise the Union Government and the member state Governments to take action upon any such matter.

• There are several other platforms in India working on the principle of promoting cooperative federalism. But the Zonal Councils are different. They act as a regional forum of cooperative endeavour for states linked with each other geographically, economically, politically, and culturally.

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East Zonal Council

The Zonal Council for the Eastern States of India acts as a regional forum for the member states to discuss the issues pertaining to their geographical, political, economic, and cultural issues. The Issue Resolution process for this Council is as follows:

• Member states propose issues for discussion at the Standing Committee Level.

• Unresolved issues of the Council are escalated and referred to the Zonal Council Meetings.

• Consensus-based decisions are taken at these Council meetings, which are not legally binding.

East Zonal Council States

East Zonal Council States are comprised in such a way that the member states lie near each other. These states are Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand. These member states meet every year to discuss the issues related to shared interests. Chief Ministers of the member states are present at the meeting, and one of them is appointed as the Vice-Chairman of this Council every year on a rotational basis.

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