The Maharashtra government has announced a paid holiday on December 2 for employees in poll-bound districts. Elections will be held for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats spread across the western state next week — the first phase of the long-pending urban and rural local body polls.
According to a government resolution issued on Friday, employees are entitled to a day of paid leave in order to exercise their franchise. Officials noted that some establishments had failed to provide paid time off during previous elections — depriving many people of their voting rights. The policy will apply for all eligible citizens in the districts where voting is slated to commence on December 2.
The government has warned that failure to grant paid leave or adequate time-off will attract action if complaints are received.
Who is eligible for the paid leave?
The state government has granted a leave to all employees in the poll-bound districts. This will apply even if their workplace is outside the constituency where they are registered to vote. Elections will be held for nearly 700 local bodies over the next two months — including 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils. The first round of elections will be followed by polls to 336 Panchayat Samitis, 32 Zilla Parishads and 29 municipal corporations — including Mumbai. But the schedule is yet to be announced by the State Election Commission.
The holiday directive will apply to all workers, employees and officers who are voters in the polling areas. Establishments under the Labour Department, including factories, shops, hotels, commercial establishments, IT companies, malls and retail outlets, must comply with the directive. Those providing essential or continuous services must grant two to three hours of special leave if a full-day holiday is not feasible.
Which parts of the state have elections on December 2?
The poll bound areas are spread across Maharashtra. The major districts involved include Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Thane, Pune, Kolhapur, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Nanded, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Solapur, Beed, Amravati, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, among others, as listed on the official website of the State Election Commission, Maharashtra.
