Maharashtra Approves Elected Presidents Voting Rights in Municipalities

The Maharashtra cabinet has cleared an amendment allowing directly elected municipal council and nagar panchayat presidents voting rights. The law change via ordinance will alter the 1965 Act. The ruling alliance won recent elections significantly. New programs aim to enhance local governance and nurse service regularization was approved.

The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a crucial amendment allowing directly elected presidents of municipal councils and nagar panchayats to become members of these local bodies with voting rights. This legislative change, which will be enacted through an ordinance, aims to amend the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act of 1965.

The decision comes in the wake of recent elections where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a significant win, bagging 207 out of 288 municipal president positions and 4,422 of 6,851 councillor seats. The cabinet also announced the launch of 'District Karmayogi 2.0' and 'Sarpanch Sanvad' programs to bolster administrative efficiency across village, taluka, and district levels.

Additionally, the cabinet agreed to regularize the services of nurses from Zilla Parishads, both currently employed and retired, who have signed a bond. A separate decision approved using one acre of Dairy Development Department land in Dharashiv for a statue of social reformer Annabhau Sathe.