Panchayat polls in Bihar from Sept 24; 28% DA for govt staff

Additional chief secretary, cabinet secretariat department, Sanjay Kumar, said a formal notification for the panchayat elections would be issued on August 24 and the polling would be conducted first in the areas not or less impacted by floods

Bihar cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod for the long-awaited panchayat elections in the state, which will be held in 11 phases beginning September 24 and ending on December 12, officials said.

Panchayat polls will be held in 11 phases. (HT FIle)

The cabinet, at its meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar also approved 28% dearness allowance (DA) to its employees and pensioners with effect from July 1 on the lines of the Centre. Currently, the DA was 17%, which means an additional annual bill of ₹2256 crore for the state government.

Briefing media persons after the meeting through virtual mode, additional chief secretary, cabinet secretariat department, Sanjay Kumar, said a formal notification for the panchayat elections would be issued on August 24 and the polling would be conducted first in the areas not or less impacted by floods.

The cabinet also okayed a proposal by the urban development department (UDD) to levy water user charges from residents in urban areas based on property tax of the premises and nature of use of water. Different charges has been fixed for user charges for different users, like domestic, commercial, industrial, etc.

The cabinet also cleared the CM Narishakti stipend to help girls and women prepare for the mains examination for civil services after they pass the preliminary test for the state and union civil services commissions. Those who clear the BPSC prelims would be entitled for one time stipend of ₹50,000 and those clearing the UPSC would be getting ₹1l akh.

The agriculture department’s proposal to set up three technical colleges in the farm sector was also approved by the cabinet. Agriculture Business Management College, Agriculture Bio-technology College and Agriculture Engineering College would be opened in Patna, Bhagalpur and Ara, respectively. The posts of teaching and non-teaching staff have also been sanctioned.