: Friday, October 25, 2024 10:51 PM
Chandigarh. Haryana Chief Secretary Dr. TVSN Prasad today chaired the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of Northern Zonal Council at Hotel Lalit, Chandigarh. In the meeting, Secretary of Inter State Council Secretariat (ISCS) K. Moses Chalai, Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Rajasthan Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant, Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha attended. Apart from this, senior officials of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh as well as Union Territories of Ladakh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Home Ministry participated. Various important matters discussed in the meeting held under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Amritsar last year were also discussed in the meeting.
The council promotes mutual understanding and cooperation
In the welcome address of the meeting, Dr. Prasad highlighted the importance of regional councils in promoting cooperative federalism. He said that the Council is very important to empower the states and increase coordination on policy frameworks between the Center and the states. These councils facilitate discussion on a wide variety of issues. Which promotes mutual understanding and cooperation. The Chief Secretary emphasized that the Regional Council meetings coordinate approaches to discuss important social and economic development issues. This collaborative environment helps in amicably resolving the pending matters between the Center and the States as well as the participating States. Also allows opportunity to share and adopt best practice.
Dr. Prasad invited the participants to visit the holy land of Rakhigarhi and Kurukshetra.
Expressing pride in the rich cultural heritage of Haryana, Dr. Prasad invited the participants to visit Rakhigarhi, one of the oldest civilizations in Hisar district and Geetasthali, the holy land of Kurukshetra.
Emphasis laid on the need for prompt investigation in rape and sexual crimes against women and children.
The meeting also stressed the need for speedy investigation into cases of rape and sexual crimes against women and children. The government had approved the Criminal Law Amendment Act in 2018, which set out stringent provisions for sexual offences, including death penalty in case of rape of a girl below 12 years of age. Advisories along with compliance reports are being issued to all States and Union Territories to ensure compliance with the two-month time limit for completion of investigation under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018. In this, 100 percent compliance has been urged for effective implementation of the Act. This will create a sense of security among women through such measures to strengthen the investigation and prosecution machinery.
Many important inter-state issues were also discussed in detail during the meeting. These include the need for neighboring states to shift to clean fuels like piped natural gas in their industries, relaxation of use of coal as fuel in thermal power plants in NCR regions, manufacturing, storage, sale, (distribution through online marketing platforms) Topics included ban on bursting of all types of firecrackers in NCR, vehicle pollution control, registration of BS-6 vehicles, promotion of electric vehicles and discouraging entry of trucks with other destinations in Delhi.
A total of 69 issues were discussed in the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Northern Regional Council. Many of these covered issues of national importance. These are being regularly discussed and monitored in the meetings of various regional councils. These include Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, effective implementation of direct benefit transfer for social security schemes, eliminating the problem of malnutrition among girls through nutrition campaign, reducing the school dropout rate, prosperity through cooperation, states and union territories. Topics like good functioning of states, improvement in banking services in rural areas, speedy investigation of cases related to rape and sexual crimes against women and children and establishment of fast track courts for such cases were included.
States and Union Territories shared their best initiatives
During the meeting the participating States and Union Territories made presentations on the best initiatives adopted in their respective areas. Planning Special Secretary Anupama Jorwal from Rajasthan gave a presentation on Smart Change from Paper to Pixel and Rajasthan Jan Aadhaar Scheme. SP Head Quarter Ketan Bansal from Chandigarh presented on implementation of new criminal laws, Additional Chief Secretary Raja Shekhar Vundru from Haryana presented on AHD Department, Dr. Saket Kumar on Energy Department and Amneet P Kumar on WCD Haryana. From Himachal Pradesh, Secretary Ashish Singhmar, from Child Protection Schemes and Director of Fisheries, Vivek Chandel, from Cage Trout Fish Farming – A New Step Towards Blue Revolution, from Ladakh, Sajad Mufti from India’s first Dark Sky Reserve ‘Hanle’ and from Punjab, Ajay Sharma presented on Door Step Service Delivery, Barnala Accessibility and Future Tycoon.
In his concluding remarks, Chief Secretary Dr. TVSN Prasad praised the innovative practices shared by the States and emphasized that this meeting serves as an excellent platform for collaboration and exchange of ideas. Secretary Monitoring and Coordination Dr. Priyanka Soni presented the vote of thanks.
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Web Title-21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Northern Zonal Council, Chief Secretary of Rajasthan Sudhansh Pant, Himachal Prabodh Saxena and KAP Sinha of Punjab participated.