Tejashwi promises allowance hike, pension and insurance for panchayat representatives if INDIA bloc wins Bihar polls

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has promised to double allowances, provide pensions, and offer Rs 50 lakh insurance cover to Panchayati Raj representatives if the INDIA bloc wins the Bihar polls. He also pledged benefits for PDS distributors and rural artisans

Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday said allowances of the representatives of Bihar’s panchayati raj system will be doubled if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the State.

He also announced a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover and a pension for them. The panchayati raj system consists of three levels of governance – zila parishad, panchayat samiti, and gram panchayat. The chairpersons are known as ‘mukhiya’ (gram panchayat), ‘pramukh’ (panchayat samiti), and ‘adhyaksha’ (zila parishad).

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The Nitish Kumar government had, in June, increased allowances and other benefits of panchayati raj institution functionaries and ward members across the State. The monthly allowance of zila parishad presidents was increased to Rs 30,000 from Rs 20,000, vice presidents (Rs 20,000 from Rs 10,000), and ‘mukhiyas’ (Rs 7,500 per month from Rs 5,000).

At present, there are 8,053 gram panchayats, 533 panchayat samitis, and 38 zila parishads functional in the State. A ‘gram kachahari’ has also been established in each gram panchayat for the dispensation of justice at the doorstep of the rural populace, officials said.

“If the INDIA bloc is voted to power, the monthly allowances of the representatives of Bihar’s panchayati raj system will be doubled. We will also substantially increase the margin money, per quintal, of distributors of the public distribution system (PDS) in the state,” Yadav told reporters.

PDS distributors are currently paid Rs 258.40 per quintal as commission in the State. “Besides, we will provide Rs 5 lakh interest-free loans to barbers, those engaged in the pottery business, and carpenters in the state,” he added.

Earlier, Yadav had announced that if the INDIA bloc comes to power, it will give “permanent employee” status to all contractual employees working in different departments of the State government.

Yadav had also announced, according to “government employee status” to around 2 lakh ‘community mobilisers’ of ‘Jeevika Didis’ working in the State, and a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 for them. Besides, he had promised to provide one government job to every family in Bihar.

Reacting to the RJD leader’s latest announcements, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told PTI, “People know that all his promises are hollow. He is accused in 27 cases of corruption and other crimes… Cases are pending against him in Bihar, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. Voters are well aware of what Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has done for representatives of the panchayati raj system and PDS distributors”.

People want to know “how Tejashwi Yadav made assets worth Rs 13.41 crore in his 10 years of political life as an MLA”, Neeraj Kumar asserted. The 243-member Bihar assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the results set to be announced on November 14.