Question

Assertion (A): The North-Eastern Zonal Council includes Sikkim as one of its member states.

Reason (R): The North-Eastern Zonal Council was established under the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

• A. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
• B. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
• C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.
• D. Both (A) and (R) are false.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. (A) is true, but (R) is false.

North-Eastern Zonal Council and its Composition

• The North-Eastern Zonal Council (NEZC) is one of the four Zonal Councils of India.
• It was established by the North Eastern Council (NEC) Act, 1971, not the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
• The member states of the NEZC are:
  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • Assam
  • Manipur
  • Meghalaya
  • Mizoram
  • Nagaland
  • Tripura
• Sikkim was added as the eighth member state of the North-Eastern Zonal Council in 2002. This addition was a significant expansion of the council.

Zonal Councils of India

• Zonal Councils are advisory bodies set up by the Government of India to foster cooperative federalism.
• There are five Zonal Councils in total:
  • Northern Zonal Council
  • Central Zonal Council
  • Eastern Zonal Council
  • Western Zonal Council
  • Southern Zonal Council
• The North-Eastern Zonal Council (NEZC) is a special category council, distinct from the original five Zonal Councils.
• The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 formed the basis for the creation of the original five Zonal Councils, but the NEZC has a different legislative origin.