Maha governor gives assent to bill on sarpanch polls

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has given his assent to a bill passed by the state legislature last month allowing election of sarpanch (village head) from among members of gram panchayats.

Government sources had earlier said NCP minister Hasan Mushrif met Koshyari on Wednesday to discuss the issue, but was told that the bill had been referred to the state advocate general.

"It never happened in the past (in Maharashtra) that the bill passed by both the Houses of the legislature was sent to advocate general for opinion," the sources had said.

"The governor has given his assent to the bill," Raj Bhavan sources said on Friday.

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Reversing a key decision of the previous BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Devendra Fadnavis, the state legislature on February 25 passed a bill allowing election of sarpanch from among members of the local bodies instead of a popular mandate amid ruckus by BJP members over issues of farmers.

The rule for the direct election of the sarpanch was brought in by the previous BJP-led government in the state in 2017.

In the Lower House, the Maharashtra Village Panchayat (Amendment) Bill 2020 was tabled by Rural Development Mushrif.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government last year after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party severed ties with then ally BJP over sharing chief ministerial post.

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