Amit Shah Chairs Southern Zonal Council Meet; CMs Vijay, Naidu, Shivakumar Debate Water Disputes and Delimitation

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting here on August 20, 2026. The regional summit focused on inter-state river water sharing, parliamentary delimitation demands and proportional tax devolution. Chief secretaries, advisers and other senior officers of the state and central governments also attended.

Key attendees included Chief Ministers C Joseph Vijay of Tamil Nadu, Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, DK Shivakumar of Karnataka and VD Satheesan of Kerala. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu participated because Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is in the US. Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor Admiral (retired) DK Joshi and Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel also attended.

Shah said the foundation of India's progress was the development of southern states, which rested on three pillars — high literacy rate, trained manpower and technical expertise in utilising the deep sea. "We have succeeded in making water-related issues dispute-free across entire North India; we will also have to think afresh on issues of water sharing in South India...If great rivers of India, from Brahmaputra to Cauvery and Godavari, are interconnected, India may not face any water shortage for the next 100 years," Shah said. He noted that five out of eight North Indian water issues persisting since the pre-British era were resolved five months ago, and called for joint meetings involving the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Inter-State Council and the respective states to settle southern disputes.

Debating Southern Water Disputes

Water rights dominated the council's agenda. Shivakumar supported the proposed Mekedatu dam project, saying it would benefit farmers in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He assured Tamil Nadu that all but 5 TMC of the river's water would naturally flow into their territory and asked the home minister to call a separate meeting to resolve water sharing issues amicably.

Vijay said the legitimate rights of lower-riparian states and the livelihoods that depend on assured river flows must be fully protected. He said the timely implementation of the Supreme Court's judgement and the decisions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority remains essential. On the Mullaiperiyar, safety must continue to be guided by judicial decisions for increasing the water level to 152 feet, Vijay said, adding that any upstream intervention with the potential to affect the rightful share of another state must proceed only within this legal and institutional framework.

Satheesan said Kerala is willing to provide Tamil Nadu with its full share of water from a new Mullaiperiyar dam. Kerala will bear the entire cost, while Tamil Nadu will manage the design, location and construction of the new dam, he said.

Mallu called for resolving the Krishna river water dispute with Andhra Pradesh, terming it as its "legitimate entitlements" and seeking the protection of downstream rights through established legal frameworks.

Naidu proposed a Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project to divert over 500 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu. He called for coordinated efforts by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on river water issues.

Shah urged the leaders to find collaborative solutions. "There is nothing wrong with protecting one's own state's interests, but if protecting those interests means that states do not get water for years, then no one's interests are truly being protected," Shah said.

The southern states agreed to resolve these pending water disputes expeditiously through mutual dialogue and constructive solutions, the Press Information Bureau stated in a release. Both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also agreed to resolve the division of assets and liabilities in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the statement added.

Delimitation and Parliamentary Representation

Seat allocation sparked intense debate. Shivakumar urged the panel to demand that the Union government freeze Lok Sabha seats at 543 for 25 years. He also proposed using the 1971 census for boundary redrawing and absorbing the female quota within the current seat count, Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar said: "That [delimitation] is the main agenda. I think Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and myself we all have come to the same agreement, the majority of the southern states."

Satheesan and Mallu backed the Karnataka chief minister's delimitation proposal. This unified stance follows recent legislative developments in New Delhi. In April 2026, a constitutional amendment bill to increase the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from 550 to 850 and link the women's quota with the last published census failed to garner the required two-thirds majority.

Vijay urged the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament. "Such an approach would uphold the principles of equity, preserve the federal balance envisioned by our Constitution and reinforce the confidence of all states in our democratic institutions," Vijay said.

Financial Devolution and Infrastructure

Economic contributions formed the core of the state leaders' fiscal arguments. Vijay highlighted that the southern states contribute over 30% of India's GDP. He stressed greater flexibility for states in GST-rate determination to uphold equity and preserve the federal balance.

Karnataka powers national growth. With only 5.5% of the population, the state generates 9% of India's GDP and 42% of its software exports, Shivakumar said. It also hosts 1,100 Global Capability Centres.

The Karnataka chief minister urged the immediate release of Rs 5,495 crore in special grants. He also requested Rs 6,000 crore in state-specific allocations proposed by the 15th Finance Commission. Shivakumar sought federal assistance for the Bengaluru-Mumbai high-speed rail, the Satellite Town Ring Road and a new AIIMS at Raichur.

Naidu called for a bullet train corridor connecting Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu through Kuppam, and suggested a transport network connecting Amaravati, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Satheesan said the financial architecture of central schemes was increasingly inequitable to states.

Drug Control and Safety

Law enforcement and public safety issues concluded the council's agenda. Shah spoke about the early disposal of rape and POCSO cases through fast-track special courts, adding that after the introduction of the new criminal laws, many tools became available for accelerating the process. He informed the chief ministers that the Home Ministry prepared a three-year road map for the Drug Free India campaign, in which the roles of several departments of the states and the Centre were defined.

Vijay asked the Centre to strengthen the regulatory framework governing the online sale of medicines to effectively address emerging substance abuse among the youth. He also requested the Centre to allow Tamil Nadu to fill all state-quota medical and dental seats based on marks obtained in the Class 12 examinations.

Satheesan sought more intelligence sharing to crack down on drug syndicates and spoke about the joint efforts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka against drug trafficking.