State govt relents on Mayoral Bill

MUMBAI, April 10: A consensus seems to have been reached between the Maharashtra government and leaders of opposition parties after a five-hour long brainstorming session over the proposed Mayor-in-Council bill for Mumbai.

The government has agreed to bring forward several amendments suggested by members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, including the one to bring the Commissioner on par with the Chief Secretary vis-a-vis the Mayor and another to set up boroughs for better administration of civic amenities.Accordingly, when the bill comes up for discussion in the Legislative Council on April 16, the government will move either an amendment bill or present them otherwise in a suitable manner.

In the event this does not happen, opposition members today reserved their right to further discuss in detail the pros and cons of the bill.

The discussions were led by Sena ministers Sudhir Joshi and Ravindra Mane. Among opposition leaders present were Chhagan Bhujbal, Vasant Chavan and Vyankappa Patki. ChiefMinister Manohar Joshi absented himself from the proceedings.