Chennai, Aug 19 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Chennai on Wednesday evening to chair the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting at Kovalam on Thursday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will attend the high-level conference along with the Chief Ministers of other southern States and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The meeting will be held at a luxury hotel on East Coast Road in Kovalam, Chengalpattu district.
HM Shah is scheduled to leave New Delhi aboard a special aircraft at 4.50 p.m. and arrive at Chennai airport at 7.40 p.m. Senior government officials and BJP functionaries will receive him at the airport. He will subsequently travel by road to Kovalam, where he will stay overnight before presiding over the conference.
Apart from CM Vijay, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu and Puducherry CM N. Rangasamy are scheduled to participate in the deliberations.
Chief secretaries, home secretaries and other senior officials from the participating States and the Union Territory will also attend the meeting.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs usually convenes the Southern Zonal Council meeting annually to promote interstate cooperation and resolve issues affecting the region. However, the conference has not been held since 2022, lending added significance to Thursday’s deliberations.
The meeting is expected to discuss interstate cooperation, economic development, industrial investment, infrastructure expansion, water-sharing arrangements, education, healthcare, information technology and disaster management.
Measures to prevent crime, improve coordination among law-enforcement agencies and address border-related disputes are also likely to figure prominently on the agenda.
The conference assumes particular importance amid the continuing differences between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of Cauvery River water. It is expected to provide the two states with an opportunity to present their positions and explore measures to improve coordination under the Centre’s supervision.
Officials are also likely to review the implementation of decisions adopted at previous council meetings and identify issues requiring coordinated action by the Union and State governments.
Security has been tightened at Chennai airport, along HM Shah’s convoy route and around the conference venue. Police personnel have been deployed at strategic locations on East Coast Road, while traffic arrangements are being closely monitored ahead of the Union Home Minister’s visit.
–IANS
aal/dpb
