MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Oct 10: Jharkhand cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday gave its nod to holding elections in 48 municipal bodies in the state without reservation to the OBC category. The cabinet also gave its approval to 18 other proposals.
“Elections will be held in 48 municipal bodies without OBC reservation, while Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) will continue to get reservation,” Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel said on the proposal of the Urban Development and Housing Department.
The election of ward members, president and mayor will be direct. Voters will choose them. The election of vice president and deputy mayor will be indirect. Ward members elected for these will cast their votes. The election will not be on party basis, she said.
Among the other important decisions of the cabinet, Skoda car will be purchased for the 21 judges of Jharkhand High Court, which will cost Rs 9.30 crore. It also approved the proposal to protect Sarna, Masna and the holy place of tribals in Jharkhand.
The transport department proposal of Mukhyamantri Gram Gaadi Yojana – 2022 also got approval from the cabinet. Chief Minister Soren will inaugurate the program ‘Aapke Sarkar-Aapke Adhikar-Aapke Dwar’ in Giridih on October 12.
The main objective is to encourage youth to drive on rural roads and connect them with self-employment. The beneficiaries of this will be people from ST, SC, Minority and OBC category. The government will give free permit for 5 years, free road tax, free registration and 5% interest subsidy on buying a vehicle for 5 years. A provision of Rs 20 crore has been made for this.
The cabinet also decided to increase the dearness allowance of the state employees. More than 3.25 lakh government employees and pensioners will get the benefit of this. Dearness allowance will be increased by 4 percentage points from 34% to 38%. The hike in dearness allowance will be applicable from July 1.
