A measure allowing elected members of local bodies to submit their caste validity certificates within a year after the election was approved by both houses of the Maharashtra legislature.
The decision to amend the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, is expected to benefit nearly 7,000 elected representatives across the state.
As per the government, it sought to increase the time frame as district-level caste validation committees are now overburdened. Earlier, the state government had issued an ordinance to give relief to the elected representatives. The ordinance will now lapse with the passage of the bill in both houses.