By IANS,
Ranchi : The Jharkhand cabinet Friday decided to hold panchayat polls in the state before June 30 and reserve 50 percent posts of village council heads for women.
“The Jharkhand cabinet has decided to hold panchayat polls before June 30. The state government will send recommendations to the state election commission to hold the panchayat polls before June 30,” A.K. Singh, chief secretary of Jharkhand, told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
He said: “The cabinet also decided to reserve 50 percent seats of Mukhiya and Sarpanch in panchayats for women.”
The Supreme Court in January this year had directed the state election commission to hold panchayat elections at the earliest.
In Jharkhand, panchayat elections have not taken place since 1978. As a result, Jharkhand has suffered a loss of Rs.3,000 crore to Rs.4,000 crore in development funds in the past nine years alone.