In a step towards women’s empowerment, the Tripura cabinet has agreed to the Centre’s amendment bill of Article 243(D) of the Constitution to reserve 50 per cent of the total number of seats reserved for the fair sex in three-tier village panchayats and nagar palikas.
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told reporters here on Friday that the State Cabinet discussed the issue at the meeting of the Council of Ministers held here on Thursday night and welcomed the proposal.
President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, in her speech in Parliament after assumption of power by the UPA government last year, had suggested for 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and other urban local bodies in the country and accordingly the Union Cabinet gave the nod.
“The ruling Left Front is always in favour of empowering women and bring them in the process of decision making, so we have made a study of the proposal of reservation for women in local bodies in different levels and finally the Council of Ministers approved it”, Mr. Sarkar said.
Bihar, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have already implemented it while Rajasthan and Kerala also declared to reserve seats for women in local bodies, official sources said here.
