MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government is set to overturn the previous Devendra Fadnavis regime's decision of electing sarpanchs (village heads) directly from among the people.
State Rural Development Minister and NCP leader Hasan Mushrif on Wednesday said an ordinance will soon be placed before the state Cabinet to pave way for electing sarpanchs from among village panchayat members.
The Fadnavis government in 2017 brought an ordinance to ensure the sarpanchs were elected directly from among the people.
"People elected sarpanchs directly in the last gram panchayat elections. The MVA has decided that the sarpanch will now be elected from (gram panchayat) members. We will soon bring ordinance before the Cabinet to ensure there is no direct election," Mushrif told reporters here.
Asked about the rationale behind the proposed move, Mushrif cited "differences" between ideologies of sarpanchs and members of respective gram panchayats and said these have "repercussions" on developmental works.
There are 28,332 villages in the state.