The decks for women reservation on 1.20 lakh seats in rural areas seem to have been cleared, as the bill allotting 50% to women was tabled in the state assembly late on Monday.
The decks for women reservation on 1.20 lakh seats in rural areas seem to have been cleared, as the bill allotting 50% to women was tabled in the state assembly late on Monday.
With the reservation of more than 30,000 seats in the municipal councils and corporations in the urban areas, the total number of women representing the people in local bodies is expected to go beyond 1.50 lakh.
The bill is expected to be passed on Wednesday, as almost all the parties have supported it. A detailed discussion on the bill is expected as members in the lower house were keen on it.
When it was tabled, around 11pm on Monday, there were on 15 members, including three ministers, in the lower house. No woman member was present and hence the opposition demanded that it be postponed. However, rural development department minister Jayant Patil was keen on its immediate introduction.
Patil said that with one-half of the seats reserved for women, the state will be on par with developed countries in empowering women. “A country like Rwanda offers 50% reservation to women, in developed countries it is 40% to 45 %. This move by the state government for equitable reservation in local bodies will help in bringing equality,” he said.
Girish Bapat of BJP, while initiating the discussion from the opposition benches, said that along with the reservation women should be offered safety and security.
An official from the rural development department said that currently there are 38% women representatives in the local bodies.
“Zilla parishads, panchayat samities and the gram panchayats have 38% women against the mandatory reservation of a third of total seats. If the bill is converted into an act, nearly 1.20 lakh women will get opportunities in rural local bodies,” he said.
He added that if passed in the session, elections in 27 zilla parishads and 340 panchayat samities scheduled for January 2012 could be conducted with the one-half reservation for women.
Patil added, “There won’t be any dearth of women candidates. The parties were worried about this even when the one-third reservation was introduced, but the experience has proved otherwise.”
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