Patna, Jun 10 (PTI) Preparations were in full swing in Patna for the standing committee meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council on June 17, an official said on Saturday.

The Eastern Zonal Council comprises Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Sikkim.

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The General Administration Department (GAD) of the Bihar government has selected 20 officials of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) who will act as liaison officers and will coordinate with officials from other states who will attend the meeting, the official said.

The agenda of the meeting is still under preparation, though all issues concerning the zone are aimed to be covered in the meeting, he said.

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"Training of all the 20 officials of the BAS will start on Monday, and they will report to the state Home Department," said a circular issued by the GAD.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the 25th Eastern Zonal Council meeting held on December 17.

The five zonal councils -- Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central -- were set up under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 to foster inter-state cooperation and coordination. They are mandated to discuss and make recommendations on any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-state transport.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)