Jaipur

Ahead of the announcement of local body elections, the Rajasthan Cabinet on Wednesday approved Bills to revoke provisions that barred people with more than two children from contesting panchayat and municipal elections.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said the restriction was introduced at a time when population control was a key concern. However, with the fertility rate declining from 3.6 during 1991–94 to around 2 at present, the relevance of such provisions has diminished.

The Cabinet approved the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposing amendments to Section 19 of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, and Section 24 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009.

Patel was accompanied at the briefing by Deputy Chief Minister Premchand Bairwa and Industries and Commerce Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore.

The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma at the Assembly Secretariat.

In another significant move, the Cabinet approved the formation of a Revenue Intelligence and Economic Offences Directorate by abolishing the existing State Revenue Intelligence Directorate. The new body will strengthen action against economic crimes and improve financial discipline.

Patel said that in compliance with a Supreme Court of India judgment, the Cabinet also approved removing the word “leprosy” from the list of disqualifying diseases under Section 24 of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009. The amendment aims to uphold dignity and ensure equal opportunity for persons affected by leprosy to contest municipal elections.

Explaining the scope of the new Directorate, Bairwa said it would deal with offences such as real estate fraud, financial crimes linked to banks, insurance firms, NBFCs and the share market, multi-level marketing scams, fake insolvency cases, and fraudulent placement agencies. It will also handle cases involving forged documents for jobs and admissions, illegal encroachments and sale of government land, stamp and registration irregularities, shell companies and cooperative scams.

The Cabinet further approved the Rajasthan Industrial Park Promotion Policy, 2026, aimed at accelerating industrial development and employment generation through the development of private industrial parks.

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It also cleared a revised financial model for the proposed Rajasthan Mandapam and Global Capability Centre project in Jaipur, and approved the draft of the Rajasthan Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy University, Ajmer Bill, 2026, to promote Indian systems of medicine.