Maharashtra government mulls more wages, powers to panchayat and zilla heads

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government is considering a proposal to hike the honorarium given to zilla parishad presidents, panchayat samiti chairpersons and heads of various committees in these two local self-government bodies.

"Presently, the honorarium is Rs 5000 a month. A decision will be taken in a day or two," state rural development minister Jayant Patil said.

A move is also in the offing to give more administrative powers to panchayat samiti chairpersons and heads of various committees in zilla parishads.

"They have to approach the zill parishad president even to take disciplinary action and this delays the process," he said, adding powers will be delegated to expedite the rural governance process.

Meanwhile, he admitted that there are several vacancies in Vidarbha and Marathwada.

"It is a challenge to fill them. At present, we are conducting a drive to fill posts through promotions and are awaiting Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) recruitment as well," he said.