Telangana to host next Southern Zonal Council meeting

Telangana to host next Southern Zonal Council session Updated – August 20, 2026 07: 12 pm IST – HYDERABAD.

Key points

• Senior authorities stated the State's problems pertaining to worries expressed by Karnataka over the Palamuru Rangareddy and Nakkalagandi lift irrigation schemes figured in the session.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs, being a nodal agency, is prepared to extend its cooperation in resolving the pending problems serving the interests of the two States.
• The next session of the Southern Zonal Council will be held in Telangana.

In practice, the next session of the Southern Zonal Council will be held in Telangana. Southern Zonal Council (SZC) chairman and Union Home Minister Amit Shah accepted the request created by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka at the Council's gathering held in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday.

In practice, the standing committee of the SZC, comprising five southern States and Union Territory of Puducherry, would meet shortly to prepare action taken reports on the matters discussed on Thursday and finalise the agenda for the next session that is anticipated to include the items carried over from Thursday's session.

Senior authorities stated the State's problems pertaining to worries expressed by Karnataka over the Palamuru Rangareddy and Nakkalagandi lift irrigation schemes figured in the session. The Union Home Minister is understood to have opined that it was significant for the riparian States to produce optimum utilisation of available water. Approaching courts or tribunals seeking resolution to their problems could lead to delays in adjudication. The would, in turn, result in water going waste into the sea which was not in the interests of any State.

Notably, the comments assume significance as the States referred to Section 3 of the Inter State River Water Disputes Act 1956 which allows the State administration to request the Centre to refer the water disputes with other riparian States to a tribunal for adjudication.

In practice, the requests of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments for speedy resolution of impasse over apportionment of Schedule IX and X institutions as additionally those that are not mentioned anywhere in the AP Reorganisation Act are learnt to have come up for discussion during the gathering. Mr. Amit Shah is learnt to have favoured the governments of the two States to resolve the problems through mutual discussions rather than raising them at the southern zonal council meetings. The Ministry of Home Affairs, being a nodal agency, is prepared to extend its cooperation in resolving the pending problems serving the interests of the two States.

In short, telangana to host next Southern Zonal Council meeting is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.