Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Tuesday called for timely and coordinated action on the agenda items of the Standing Committee of the Eastern Zonal Council and urged the participating states and departments to work together to ensure early and visible progress.
Chairing the 15th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eastern Zonal Council (EZCSC) here, Garg also stressed the need to strengthen collective efforts to improve governance and accelerate the development of the Eastern Zonal region.
Organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs in association with the Odisha government, the meeting was attended by representatives of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. Ashish Srivastava, Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Pratyaya Amrit, Chief Secretary of Bihar, Ajay Kumar Singh, Development Commissioner of Jharkhand, and Binod Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of West Bengal, were among those present.
A total of 74 agenda items were discussed, including 12 pending items from the previous meeting, 61 new agenda items and one item on best practices adopted by the participating states.
The meeting reviewed a wide range of inter-state, development and governance-related issues, including water sharing, flood management, infrastructure development, railway projects, rehabilitation and resettlement, mining in ecologically sensitive areas, human-elephant conflict, cyber security, digital infrastructure, telecom connectivity, banking access in unbanked rural villages and the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
The Subarnarekha Multipurpose Project and recurring flood-related issues concerning Odisha and Jharkhand were discussed in detail. The Water Resources Secretaries of the two states were asked to hold joint discussions with their teams and work out an appropriate solution before the next meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council. Other inter-state river issues involving the eastern states also came up for discussion.
The committee also reviewed telecom connectivity in Odisha, operationalisation of banking services in unbanked rural villages, infrastructure projects under the National Highways Authority of India, cyber crime investigation, dam construction in Jharkhand and related rehabilitation and compensation issues. Railway-related matters, including compensation, and the progress of Centrally Sponsored Schemes were also reviewed.
Discussions also covered food safety regulations, strengthening digital infrastructure, data centre growth, IT initiatives, mandatory biometric updates for children, implementation of the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme and awareness activities related to the scheme. Other agenda items included auction of major mineral blocks, PMGSY road connectivity, Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0, establishment of special courts for rape and POCSO Act cases, urban master plans, PMAY 2.0, measures to reduce school dropout rates and cooperative sector initiatives under “Sahakar Se Samriddhi”.
During the afternoon session, the participating states presented their best practices and innovative governance initiatives. Odisha showcased the Ama Sathi WhatsApp chatbot, the Subhadra Scheme and its Subhadra-to-Mudra entrepreneurship pathway, besides its tourism land bank initiative. Bihar presented the BHAVYA health application, Jharkhand highlighted initiatives in fisheries and community healthcare, while West Bengal shared best practices in PM e-VIDYA, flood management, dredging methods, revenue generation and e-auction models.
Srivastava described the meeting as successful and said several inter-state and common issues involving the Government of India had been resolved, while the remaining matters would be placed before the next meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council.
