New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) In one of its biggest steps yet to empower women in public life, the Indian government has decided to reserve 50 percent seats for women in 252,000 panchayats, or village councils, across the country, it was announced here Thursday.

The decision, to be effected through a constitutional amendment, will mean that women will occupy 1.4 million of the close to three million panchayat seats. The National Commission for Women and prominent women MPs immediately welcomed the measure.

"The cabinet today (Thursday) approved the proposal for moving a bill to amend article 243 D of the constitution for enhancing reservation for women in panchayats at all tiers from one third to at least 50 percent," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said.

"This provision will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, offices of chairpersons and seats and offices of chairpersons reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes," she added while briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting.

The decision comes even as a bill for reserving 33 percent of seats in parliament and the state assemblies was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1996 but has been lapsing with the dissolution of the house as the government could not evolve consensus on the issue.

The government reintroduced the bill in the Rajya Sabha last May to ensure that it did not lapse.

The constitutional amendment, which is likely to be moved during the winter session of parliament beginning mid-November, will not apply to local bodies in urban areas.

"Urban and local bodies may be covered later," Soni said.

Hailing the increased reservations, National Commission for Women chairperson Girija Vyas said: "We are delighted."

"We welcome this step, This will definitely help in empowering women and help creating sensitivity to women related development issues," newly-elected Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan told IANS. Natrajan was among those Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had personally selected in his bid to induct new and young faces into parliament.

"Its a good step but it should have been done much earlier. The central government should introduce 33 percent reservation in parliament and the assemblies. The central government had put this in their 100-day agenda. We are waiting for this to become a reality," Bharatiya Janata Party MP Darshana Vikram Jardosh said.

Not surprisingly, Communist Party of India-Marxist MP sought to draw political mileage from the measure.

"This is a process that is already on in some states like Kerela where enhanced reservation for women in village councils already exits. So, this is a welcome step without much to the credit of central government. However, the issue is why is the central government shying away from giving reservations in parliament and assemblies where it has a direct say," Karat maintained.

President Pratibha Patil, during her address to a joint session of parliament June 4, had declared the government's intent to provide 50 percent reservation for women in panchayats as women suffer multiple deprivations of class, caste and gender. Enhancing reservation in panchayats would lead to more women entering the public sphere, the president had added.

"Enhancement of reservation for women in panchyats will facilitate more women entering the public sphere and thereby lead to further empowerment of women. It will also make panchayats more inclusive institutions, thereby improving governance and public service delivery," Soni pointed out.

"Having more elected women representatives would benefit the entire population of the states and union territories where panchayati raj is in existence," Soni said.

All states and union territories to which Part IX of the constitution applies would be covered. The measure would not apply to Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, the tribal areas of Assam, Tripura and hill areas of Manipur in the northeast.

According to NCW's Vyas, "women face discrimination from the home to parliament. They have to be made equal partners in decision-making".

She also admitted that there were women elected to the panchayats who were often proxies for their male relatives.

"It is true that in the beginning there are some women panchayat leaders who are a front for their husbands. They are about 10 percent, but with this new move, even this number will come down," Vyas maintained.