Dehradun, Oct 7 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the problem of malnutrition among children has to be eliminated collectively with sensitivity.

Chairing the 24th meeting of the Central Zonal Council near Rishikesh, Shah praised the Central Zonal Council's member states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh for hugely contributing to the country's GDP and development.

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He emphasised the need to eliminate malnutrition among children saying, "It is our collective responsibility to address this problem with sensitivity."

Shah asked the member states of the council to prioritise issues like cooperation, reducing the dropout ratio of school-going children and malnutrition.

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Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, zonal councils have transformed from being “advisory bodies” to “action platforms,” he said.

Central Zonal Council's states have implemented Prime Minister Modi's concept of Team India at the grassroots level, Shah said.

The prime minister has always emphasised strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism. Under this policy, zonal councils have played the role of catalysts in solving problems, increasing financial inclusion and bringing policy changes.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami were present at the meeting, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel attended it virtually. The member states of the Central Zonal Council are the major centres for agriculture, animal husbandry and food grain production, mining, water supply and tourism in the country.

"Without these states, adequate water supply cannot be imagined", he said.

Taking an important step towards realising the prime minister's resolve to make the country's farmers prosperous, now pulses, oilseeds and maize across the country will be procured 100 per cent at the minimum support price (MSP) by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), the Union home minister said. In the meeting, it was decided to fix the price of Kodo and Kutki produce at par with the MSP of Ragi. The decision will benefit crores of farmers across the country, especially in member states of the Central Zonal Council, Shah said.

Issues like providing banking facilities to every village within a radius of 5 km, royalty and mining-related issues and building basic infrastructure in the districts affected by left-wing extremism were also discussed in the meeting.

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