Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS): Maharashtra Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday gave approval for the postponement of elections of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Zilla Parishads and Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Panchayat Samitis, whose term is due to expire in October-November this year for a period of 120 days.

The Cabinet decision will be applicable for the postponement of elections of the Chairmen of the Subject Committees of the Zilla Parishads. It was taken in the wake of the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election likely to be held in November. The state government will also soon issue an ordinance.

These elections will be postponed as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961. The tenure of the offices of the President, Vice President and Chairmen of the Subjects Committees of the Zilla Parishads and Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the Panchayat Samitis is two and half years.

“In some of the Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis, the term of offices of the Presidents, Vice Presidents and Chairmen of Subjects Committees of the Zilla Parishads, the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of Panchayat Samitis is due to expire in the month of October-November 2024,” said the Cabinet proposal moved by the Rural Development Minister.

“The state Legislative Assembly are likely to be held sometime in November. On account of the said elections, all Collectors and staff of the Collectorate of the Districts as well as the police personnel in the districts are busy with the poll preparations and would be occupied with the pre and post-election duties,” the rural development department proposal.

It added that to rule out any possibility of any possible overlapping of the said elections and any possible undue pressure on civil and police administration and any law and order problem or any inconvenience to the citizens and to the candidates and the electors concerned, it is considered expedient to temporarily postpone the elections of the Presidents, Vice Presidents and Chairmen of the Subject Committees of the Zilla Parishads and the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the Panchayat Samitis for a period of 120 days.

The Cabinet also decided to implement the Centre’s Agristack digital Mission Scheme in order to make it easier for the farmers to benefit from various schemes of the government quickly and effectively by using digital services in the agricultural sector of the state.

It consists of three foundational registries or databases in the agriculture sector - the Farmers’ Registry, Geo-referenced village maps and the Crop Sown Registry, all created and maintained by the state governments/union territories. This will be prepared by the Revenue Department. The Cabinet cleared the allocation of Rs 81.83 crore for the implementation of Agristack in the state.

Further, the Cabinet cleared an amendment to the Maharashtra Public Libraries Act to develop the reading culture and promote the book movement in the state.

In the proposed amendment, the definition of books will also be applicable to e-resources, e-books, e-magazines and e-data. Principal Secretary of the School Education Department and the Director of the Information Technology Department will be included as members of the State Library Council.

Sub-committees will also be constituted to make the work of the council effective.

The Cabinet also gave the nod to extending the application deadline for new colleges, new courses and starting of additional divisions in the state.

The deadline to apply to the Registrar of Universities was the end of September. It has now been extended and applications can be made in the prescribed format till October 31. It was approved to include the names of Atharva University Mumbai, Indira University Pune and Nayanta University Pune in the list of universities.