Mumbai: State govt on Wednesday withdrew an amendment proposing a 50-time hike in penalty for illegal felling of trees and not recognising the cutting of branches as an offence.Forest minister Ganesh Naik moved the motion to withdraw the bill to amend the Maharashtra Felling of Trees (Regulation) Act of 1964, which proposed to increase the…
Mumbai: In a relief for an Army veteran (80) who was denied a pension for two years for not submitting a life certificate, the Bombay High Court directed that the arrears should be paid to him with interest.“Insistence on a life certificate for the period from Jan 2021 to Jan 2023, in the face of…
Mumbai: In a departure from traditional practice, state Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal has appointed 83 taluka presidents through direct interviews. Previously, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president would appoint persons of his choice. “Responsible and hardworking party workers will be given the responsibility to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level in view of the…
Mumbai: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has granted final approval for the “diversion” (as BMC terms it in a press release) of 19.43 hectares of forest land in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to the BMC for the construction of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) underground tunnel. Work on the 4.7-km-long and…
Mumbai: After a recent police case against bike taxis illegally operating in the city, state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik, while waiting outside Mantralaya on Wednesday, asked a senior official of the department if bike taxis were completely off roads. He was informed that there were no bike taxis operating in Mumbai. But when the minister…
Mumbai: The state has told Bombay HC there is no room for suspicion in the death of PR manager Disha Salian (28), who allegedly jumped from the 12th floor of a Malad building on June 9, 2020. She was former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.The state opposed a petition filed by Disha’s father…
The delay in reopening South Mumbai’s Carnac Bridge was raised in the state Assembly on Wednesday, with Mumbadevi MLA Amin Patel questioning why a bridge ready for use remains shut. “I don’t understand why the inauguration has been held back. Traffic towards Chembur and other eastern suburbs has been severely affected,” Patel said, asking for…
Mumbai: Nearly two months after Andheri’s Gokhale bridge was reopened to traffic, the final pending slip road, which connects Andheri (E) to Western Express Highway, has been completed and final finishing work is underway. Located on the northeast side of Gokhale bridge, it will offer motorists an additional access point to Western Express Highway, easing…
Mumbai: In the last year, action was taken against 108 hotels and 81 lodging and boarding facilities in Mumbai for unauthorised constructions, said Madhuri Misal, Minister of State for Urban Development, in the legislative council on Wednesday. She mentioned that their water and drainage pipes were broken so that they could not operate. Of the…
Mumbai: Congress’ Nana Patole was suspended from the state assembly on Tuesday for a day after he climbed onto the podium of Speaker Rahul Narwekar and approached his desk to protest against the alleged anti-farmer remarks made by agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate and BJP MLA Babanrao Lonikar.The opposition boycotted the proceedings of the House for…
