Maharashtra asks Centre to raise non-creamy layer ceiling to Rs 15 lakh

The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday decided to request the Union government to increase the income limit to qualify for 'non-creamy layer' to Rs 15 lakh per year from the current Rs 8 lakh.

The decision came ahead of the assembly elections which are expected to be held next month.

A non-creamy layer certificate, which means the family income of a person is below the prescribed limit, is needed to avail of reservation benefits in the Other Backward Class category.

A draft ordinance to accord a constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission was also approved in the cabinet meeting, said a statement from the office of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The ordinance will be tabled in the next session of the legislature, it said, adding that 27 posts were approved for the commission.

In other decisions, the cabinet approved a proposal to set up welfare corporations for journalists and newspaper vendors.

Additional funds of Rs 709.27 crore were sanctioned for the Balasaheb Thackeray Turmeric Research Centre in Hingoli district.

A proposal under which non-profit organisation Sulabh International will provide toilets and rest rooms at all 57 government hospitals in the state was approved in the meeting, the release said.

Government land in Akse and Malwani in Borivali suburb of Mumbai will be given for the Dharavi redevelopment project and ineligible slum-dwellers will be provided housing in these areas spread over 140 acres, it said.

The cabinet also decided to provide houses to the government employees living in the Bandra government colony in Mumbai.

The Public Libraries Act will be amended give a boost to the library culture in the state, the release said.

The cabinet also approved the construction of Jalna-Nanded expressway which will be linked to the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor.

Irrigation projects were sanctioned for Saoner, Kankavli, Rajapur, Ambernath, Jihe Kathapur and Latur.

Anganwadi centers in the state will be allowed to start day-care centres, the cabinet decided.

African safari will be introduced at the Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada international zoo in Nagpur.

The working capital of the Maulana Azad Financial Corporation will be hiked from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore, the cabinet decided.

The honorarium for madarsa teachers with the D Ed degree will be increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 16,000, while the salaries of teachers with BA, B Ed, BSc degrees will be hiked from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000.

The government also decided to start the Maharashtra State International Employment and Skill Advancement Company which will implement an MoU with the German state of Baden-Wuttemberg to enable youth from Maharashtra get employment.

The company will have a working capital of Rs 3 crore. More than 27,000 applications have been received out of which scrutiny of 10,000 applications has been completed, the release said.