Now, sarpanch to be directly elected by people

In a landmark move, the state cabinet on Monday cleared the decks for the sarpanch (village heads) to be directly elected from the people for a five-year term.

At present, the members of the 28,332 gram panchayats or village councils in Maharashtra elect the sarpanch of their villages.

The cabinet has imposed a minimum education qualification of passing Class 7 to be eligible for the position. However, this will apply to those born on January 1, 1995 and later. Around 8,500 gram panchayats will go to the polls between October 2017 and February 2018.

The state government had appointed a two-member study group to study if the sarpanch can be elected directly from the people, which studied the models in place in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where the system is in place.

Accordingly, a no-confidence motion against the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch will not be allowed for two years after their election. Once such a motion has been struck down, it will not be possible to bring in another motion for two years.

The cabinet also approved the amendments to the Maharashtra Grampanchayat Act, 1958. Each gram panchayat has between seven to 17 members depending on the population of these villages.

From this year, the presidents of municipal councils in Maharashtra are being elected directly by the people.

However, leader of the opposition and senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde called the decision as one reeking of "double standards" while former chief minister and state Congress chief Ashok Chavan too opposed the move.