Nearly half of top posts in Maharashtra's nagar parishads, nagar panchayats reserved for women: UDD

Mumbai, Oct 6 (PTI) Maharashtra has reserved nearly half of the top posts across nagar parishads and nagar panchayats for women, marking a significant step towards gender representation in local governance, the state's Urban Development Department said on Monday.

There are 247 nagar parishads and 123nagar panchayats in the state, the UDD said in a statement.

"Of these, the post of president in 136 parishads falls under the open category, and 68 of them have been earmarked for women from the same category. Among 67 parishads where the chief's post is reserved for backward classes, 34 are reserved for women," it said.

In 11 parishads where the post is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), six will have women chiefs, while among the 33 reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), 17 are designated for women, the statement added.

"The state also has 123 nagar panchayats. Of these, the top post of 76 of which are from the open category. A total of 38 out of 76 have been reserved for women. The top post is reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in 40 panchayats, and 20 of these have been earmarked for women," it said.

Among 13 panchayats reserved for Scheduled Tribes, seven are earmarked for women, while of the 18 panchayats reserved for Scheduled Castes, nine will have women chiefs.

In total, 199 posts of presidents and chairpersons across nagar parishads and nagar panchayats have been reserved for women, comprising 125 in parishads and 74 in panchayats, the UDD statement said.

Compared to nagar parishad, a nagar panchayat is smaller in terms of number of people living in its jurisdiction. PTI ND BNM