Chennai , 19 August (H.S.):Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Chennai on Wednesday evening to chair the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting at Kovalam in Chengalpattu district on Thursday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will attend the conference alongside the chief ministers of other southern States and Puducherry.

Shah is scheduled to leave New Delhi by special aircraft at 4.50 p.m. and land at Chennai airport at 7.40 p.m. Senior government officials and BJP leaders will receive him before he travels by road to the conference venue on East Coast Road, where he will stay overnight.

The meeting will bring together Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar, Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu and Puducherry CM N. Rangasamy. Chief secretaries, home secretaries and other senior officials will also participate.

Convened by the Union Home Ministry, the council provides a forum for interstate cooperation and resolution of regional disputes. The conference, not held since 2022, is expected to discuss economic development, industrial investment, infrastructure, water sharing, education, healthcare, information technology and disaster management.

Crime prevention, coordination among law-enforcement agencies and border disputes are also likely to feature. The Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is expected to receive particular attention, giving both States an opportunity to present their positions under the Centre’s supervision.

Officials are also expected to review decisions taken at earlier council meetings and identify matters requiring joint action by the Union and State governments.

Security has been strengthened at Chennai airport, along Shah’s convoy route and around the Kovalam venue. Police personnel have been deployed at strategic points on East Coast Road, while traffic arrangements are being monitored ahead of the visit.

Shah is expected to depart Chennai on Thursday afternoon after completing the council’s scheduled deliberations and engagements.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman