Dodging EC code, Maharashtra to dish out pre-poll sops

* Increase in the minimum daily wages for 83 lakh agriculture labourers in the state from Rs 29 to Rs 41 (monthly wages from Rs 930 to Rs 1070).

* Lifting the ban on private practice for government doctors and medical teachers.

* Introduction of the controversial mayor-in-council system in Mumbai and Nagpur Municipal Corporations from April 1, 1998 (in which the elected wing of the corporation will have more powers than the executive).

* Extension of the slum housing scheme for the Thane district and constitution of a committee headed by Housing Minister Sureshdada Jain to prepare a draft action plan.

In addition, both Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde will launch major programmes in the next few days before the code of conduct comes into force. These include launching the Tapi Valley and Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation projects and foundation-laying ceremonies for over 40 flyovers in the metropolis.

Though both the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party ministers insisted that these decisions were taken in routine course, there were not many takers for the argument because most of these proposals had been on the agenda of the Cabinet for the past few months and had been kept pending for one reason or the other.

Curiously, while considering the report of the Sukthankar Committee which was appointed to advice the government on rehabilitating people living in dilapidated buildings in Mumbai, the Cabinet accepted all its recommendations, except this very specific one: that, under no circumstances should tenants of old and dilapidated buildings be given free houses. The committee had suggested that at least one third of the cost of re-construction should be recovered from the tenant.

This decision is being seen as an attempt by the alliance to tighten its loosening grip over the metropolis, specially in light of the complete failure of the ambitious Slum Redevelopment Programme — a pet project of Sena chief Bal Thackeray — which had promised 40 lakh free houses to slum dwellers in Mumbai.

It was on the strength of this promise in its manifesto for the last assembly and parliamentary elections that the alliance routed the Congress in the metropolis.

Even the decision to hike the minimum wages for 83 lakh agriculture labourers is being seen as a measure to lure the electorate in rural parts of the state. The issue of revision of wages of agriculture labourers was pending before the government for two years, but apparently, the decision was hastened by the upcoming elections. The government also announced that the hike would also be applicable for workers on the Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Most of the Cabinet ministers, who had only recently to be warned in writing by Chief Minister Manohar Joshi to attended Mantralaya at least twice a week are now regulars at their office in a mad race to push through pending projects before d-day.

EC order to state

The Election Commission (EC) has directed the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka not to hold any development conferences before the Legislative Council polls on December 29.

The directive asks state governments to cancel planned development conferences and report compliance of the order to the Commission.