India News | COVID-19: Maha Cabinet Nod to Hold Winter Session in Mumbai
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided to recommend to Governor B S Koshyari shifting of the venue of upcoming winter session of the state legislature from Nagpur to Mumbai in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mumbai, Dec 2 (PTI) The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided to recommend to Governor B S Koshyari shifting of the venue of upcoming winter session of the state legislature from Nagpur to Mumbai in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a meeting held by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the council of ministers approved a proposal of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on holding the winter session in Mumbai instead of Nagpur, which hosts the session every year, a statement said.
The session was scheduled to be held in Nagpur from December 7.
The BAC will meet on Thursday to prepare the programme and duration of the sitting of the legislature.
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Earlier, the monsoon session of the state legislature was held on September 7 and 8 instead on June 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Budget session held in March too was curtailed by a week.
Meanwhile, the cabinet also approved the financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to the state-run Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to enable it to pay salaries to employees.
"The government had taken the advance of Rs 120 crore from the Contingency Fund to pay salaries of MSRTC employees for October. An amount of Rs 880 crore will be handed over to the MSRTC in instalmentsto pay salaries for six months," the statement said.
The total amount will be approved as supplementary demands during the upcoming session, it said.
The MSRTC, which has 99,787 employees, needs Rs 150 crore towards salaries between November 2020 to March 2021, while the amount required for payment of salaries for April 2021 is Rs 130 crore.
The state government provides Rs 1,700 crore to the MSRTC towards passenger concessions in various categories.
As per the government, MSRTC's 40 per cent expenditure is incurred on salaries and 32 per cent on fuel.
The MSRTC suffered heavy losses during the COVID-19 lockdown, which affected its revenue.
"The MSRTC operations have yet to return to normalcy. And to save the corporation from further financial distress, the government has decided to step in," the statement said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)