Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government will move forward “very seriously” on coastal security over the next two years, underlining the Centre’s focus on strengthening security along India’s coastline.
Shah made the remarks while chairing the 28th meeting of the Western Zonal Council in Panaji, attended by the chief ministers of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra and the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, along with senior officials.
“Over the next two years, the Ministry of Home Affairs will move forward very seriously on coastal security,” Shah said while addressing the meeting.
The Home Minister also called on the Western region to play a leading role in implementing the new 'Nyaya Sanhitas' and making India’s fight against drugs a success.
“Western Region should also play a leading role in the implementation of the New Nyaya Sanhitas and in making India's fight against drugs a success,” he said.
The three new criminal laws -- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam -- came into force nationwide on July 1, 2024, replacing the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act respectively.
The focus on coastal security comes a day after Shah reviewed Goa’s law and order and security situation with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and senior officials. Coastal security was among the issues discussed during that meeting, along with implementation of the new criminal laws, narcotics, fugitives, disaster management and police modernisation.
At Monday’s meeting, Shah said the Western region was extremely important from economic, industrial and financial perspectives and described it as the “WEST Engine” of India’s economic growth.
He said “W” stands for wealth and finance, “E” for exports and ports, “S” for start-ups and semiconductors, and “T” for tourism and the blue economy.
“More than 1 crore tourists visit Goa, of whom 5 lakh are foreign tourists. Tourism contributes 16 per cent of Goa’s GSDP. Maharashtra ranks first in the country with 33,872 start-ups. Dholera has now become a hub in the semiconductor sector. Gujarat’s Mundra Port handles the highest volume of cargo, and Deendayal Port is the largest port in terms of cargo volume. Mumbai, the country's financial capital, is also emerging as a major hub for global capital,” Shah said.
The Home Minister also highlighted the increased functioning of the Zonal Councils since 2014.
He said that between 2004 and 2014, only 25 meetings of the Zonal Councils and their Standing Committees were held, while since 2014, 71 meetings have been held, an increase of nearly three times.A total of 1,893 issues have been discussed in these meetings, of which 1,445 have been resolved, he said.
“There are no longer any disputes among the states of the Western Region; this is a major achievement,” Shah said.
He added that the Zonal Councils had increasingly become an instrument for monitoring the implementation of public welfare schemes rather than merely resolving inter-state disputes.
Several issues of national and regional importance were discussed during the meeting, including implementation of Fast Track Special Courts for cases of rape against women and children, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), food safety standards, Ayushman Bharat, banking facilities in villages, railway development projects, environmental clearances, urban master planning, electricity supply, strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), nutrition, school dropout rates, cybercrime and digital infrastructure.Shah also stressed the need to strengthen the cooperative banking system and cybersecurity infrastructure.
He said all Urban Cooperative Banks should be connected with the Central Fraud Registry and that there was a need to encourage cooperative banks to integrate with MuleHunter AI.“We also need to move forward to ensure that all cooperative banks are connected to I4C,” the Home Minister said.
He also noted the progress made in computerisation of PACS, with Maharashtra achieving 98 per cent and Gujarat 92 per cent coverage, and called upon states to adopt the Gobardhan model established by Banas Dairy.
The meeting was attended by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Praful K Patel.