Directly elected chiefs of municipal councils, nagar panchayats to have voting rights

Mumbai, Dec 24 (PTI) The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposed legal amendment to enable the directly elected presidents of municipal councils and nagar panchayats to become members of these local bodies and have voting rights.

The Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 will be amended for this purpose, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

An ordinance will be issued to implement the change, the CMO said.

Elections to nagar panchayats and municipal councils were conducted earlier this month. The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won 207 out of 288 posts of municipal president and 4,422 out of 6,851 councillor seats.

The cabinet also decided to launch `District Karmayogi 2.0' and `Sarpanch Sanvad' programmes to make the administration at the levels of villages, talukas and districts more effective.

It also decided to regularise the services of nurses, who are working or have retired from Zilla Parishads after signing a bond.

In another decision, it approved the use of one acre of the land belonging to the Dairy Development Department in Dharashiv city for installing a statue of social reformer and poet Annabhau Sathe. PTI MR KRK