Southern Zonal Council meet: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay seeks fair, equitable treatment of southern States from Centre

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister greets Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held at Mamallapuram on Thursday | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Southern States seek not preferential treatment, but fair and equitable treatment, one that respects fiscal autonomy, rewards performance alongside equity, and enables high-performing States to continue investing in the infrastructure, innovation, and human capital that drive India’s growth, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday (August 20, 2026).

At the 31 st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held at Mamallapuram and presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr. Vijay said the southern States have consistently been among the principal drivers of the nation’s economic growth. As India prepares for the next Finance Commission, the fiscal devolution framework must recognise both need and performance. States that have invested in development, fiscal discipline, and demographic transition should not be placed at a disadvantage, he said.

Presently, after the introduction of GST, States find themselves with virtually no flexible revenue levers outside of petroleum and alcohol. There is already a provision in Article 279A(4)(e) of the Constitution that allows the GST Council to recommend tax rates, including floor rates with bands of GST. All State governments must work together to reclaim flexibility in tax rate determination, he said.

The meeting was attended by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, among others.

Glimpses from the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council being chaired by Union Home Minister #AmitShah at #Mamallapuram on Thursday. #TamilNadu Chief Minister C. Joseph #Vijay and his counterparts in south India take part. 📹: Special Arrangement pic.twitter.com/HZfXJKvwUu

Stating that no agenda for southern cooperation was complete without addressing shared rivers, he said “two principles must guide us.” First, the legitimate rights of lower riparian States and the livelihoods that depend on assured river flows must be fully protected. Second, the Supreme Court judgments, the awards of the tribunals, and statutory mechanism for river management must be implemented in letter and spirit. These principles are equally relevant across our shared river basins, he said.

On the Cauvery, the timely implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgment and the decisions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority remain essential. On Mullai Periyar, the safety must continue to be guided by judicial decisions for increasing the water level to 152 feet. Any upstream intervention with the potential to affect the rightful share of another State must proceed only within this legal and institutional framework, he said.

If we approach these issues with mutual trust, scientific evidence, and respect for the law, Mr.