Will trace culprits of Delhi blast even from netherworld: Amit Shah

The meeting was attended by chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir, along with chief secretaries, lieutenant governors, and senior officials

Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday vowed that the perpetrators of the Red Fort bomb blast would be tracked down “even from the depths of the netherworld” and brought before the country’s judicial system to face the harshest punishment.

Home minister Amit Shah at the Northern Zonal Council meeting. (PTI)

“Eliminating terrorism from its roots under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is our collective commitment. We will hunt down the culprits of the Delhi bomb blast even from the depths of the netherworld (patal) and ensure they receive the strictest possible punishment,” Shah said while speaking at the 32nd meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) in Faridabad.

The meeting was attended by chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir, along with chief secretaries, lieutenant governors, and senior officials. According to a PIB statement, Shah stressed that women and children’s safety must remain a top priority and urged states to increase the number of fast-track courts handling such cases.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta used the platform to flag the Capital’s mounting environmental challenges while presenting the city’s position on a range of regional matters. These included increasing Delhi’s raw water quota, accelerating the cleaning of the Yamuna, and pushing a time-bound transition to electric buses, taxis, and auto-rickshaws across the National Capital Region (NCR). Gupta also assured that Delhi would clear all pending contributions to the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and other interstate infrastructure projects.

Gupta also reiterated that Delhi’s air quality continues to be heavily influenced by pollution sources beyond its borders, especially stubble burning. “States like Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have shown positive progress in crop-residue management in recent years, but the volume of smoke coming from Punjab remains significantly high,” she said, urging neighbouring states to step up mitigation efforts. She also emphasised that NCR cities must accelerate the shift to electric mobility to achieve meaningful reductions in pollution levels.

On the Yamuna’s cleaning, Gupta pointed to the need for effective management of major drains entering Delhi from Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar, and Gurugram. She acknowledged Haryana’s cooperation on the issue but said both states needed to intensify efforts. Gupta’s office later said Delhi was seeking an increased share of raw water from neighbouring states and a renegotiation of the 1994 water-sharing agreement. “Considering Delhi’s growing requirements, she reiterated Delhi’s request to increase its share of Yamuna water from 980 MGD to 1,250 MGD, and to fast-track the Renukaji, Lakhwar, and Kishau dam projects,” the statement noted. She also asked that the maintenance responsibility for the Munak Canal be transferred to Delhi and that water assessment be carried out at the canal’s entry point into the city.

According to the Union government’s statement, Shah said the Zonal Councils – originally envisioned as advisory bodies – had, over the past decade, evolved into “action-oriented platforms” that consistently delivered results. He noted a sharp increase in meeting frequency: while only 25 Zonal Council and Standing Committee meetings were held between 2004 and 2014, the period from 2014 to 2025 has seen 64 such meetings. Of the 1,600 issues discussed across these sessions, 1,303 – or 81.43% – were resolved, the statement said.

Established under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the five Zonal Councils, including the Northern Zonal Council, serve as key cooperative federalism mechanisms. The Union home minister and minister of cooperation chairs the councils, while the Haryana chief minister is presently the vice-chairperson. The vice-chairmanship rotates annually among member states.