Maharashtra Cabinet approves 30 percent salary cut of all legislators for a year: Ajit Pawar

The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the proposal for a 30 percent salary cut of all state legislators for a year in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic loss due to the lockdown, according to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday.

The salary cut of the state's MLAs will begin from the ongoing month and will last a year, Pawar said after chairing the Cabinet meeting held today.

In the meeting, a decision to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to the Legislative Council was also taken.

The Maharashtra Cabinet also approved the constitution of two committees for assessing and formulating a revival plan for the state's economy post the lockdown period.

The first committee will comprise of experts, including former bureaucrats and officials from the Maharashtra Finance Ministry.

The second committee will have state Ministers - Ajit Pawar (Deputy CM), Jayant Patil, Balasaheb Thorat, Chhagan Bhujbal, Ashok Chavan and Anil Parab.

162 more COVID-19 cases were reported in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 1,297, state Health Department said on Thursday.