Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI) Both houses of the Maharashtra legislature on Tuesday cleared a bill to allow elected members of local bodies to submit their caste validity certificates within one year of the election.

The decision to amend the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, is expected to benefit nearly 7,000 elected representatives across the state.

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As per the government, it sought to increase the time frame as district-level caste validation committees are now overburdened.

Earlier, the state government had issued an ordinance to give relief to the elected representatives. The ordinance will now lapse with the passage of the bill in both houses.

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(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)