No minimum education qualifications for C'garh panchayat polls

The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday decided to scrap minimum educational qualifications for contesting panchayat elections in the state.

During a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, proposals for the amendment in Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act 1993, were approved, a government public relation official here said.

The cabinet gave its nod to scrap the mandatory provision of passing Class V for contesting elections for the post of 'panch' and Class VII for posts like 'sarpanch', he said.

"Now anybody who is literate, which means one who can write his/her name, can contest elections for the post of sarpanch and panch," he said.

The cabinet also approved to incorporate a provision for nominating differently-abled persons in panchayats where they do not have representation, he said.

Presently, in case people with disability fail to get elected to a panchayat, there is no provision to nominate them as members, he said.

A bill of these amendments will be introduced in the winter session of the Assembly beginning next week, he added.

The cabinet also approved setting up of two new universities in the state, one of which for horticulture and forestry will be named after Mahatma Gandhi, the official said.

Another university, which will be set up in Raigarh district, will be named after former state Congress president late Nand Kumar Patel who was killed in Jhiram Valley naxal attack in 2013, he said.