1. ‘Infra Projects Won’t Be Scrapped, Only Prioritised’: CM Uddhav Thackeray
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday reviewed several ongoing infrastructure projects in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra and said his government will prioritise them on the basis of the funds available with the state. Thackeray clarified that the government has no plans to stop work on any of the projects initiated during Devendra Fadnavis’s regime.
Thackeray, along with senior ministers Eknath Shinde, Subhash Desai, Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil, reviewed projects worth around Rs 2.43 lakh crore. These included the 14 Metro lines in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway (Samruddhi Mahamarg), the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), the Versova-Bandra sea link and the Navi Mumbai International Airport, among others.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. HC Refuses Stay, Choksi to Be Tried Under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act
The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday refused to stay proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018, against absconding businessman Mehul Choksi, who is a prime accused in the ₹13,500-crore fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB). In 2018, Choksi surrendered his Indian citizenship and became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda after fleeing the country, just before he was named in the case. Represented by legal counsel in court, Choksi has not returned to India since.
On 31 January, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had rejected Choksi’s plea seeking an opportunity to cross-examine the 21 witnesses cited by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its case against him under the FEO Act, 2018. Choksi then moved HC. He had also filed a plea seeking a stay on the FEO proceedings before the PMLA court in Mumbai.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. 61-Year-Old Man Held for Raping 6-Year-Old Girl
Police have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in Kurla. The accused, a grocer, took the girl inside his shop on the pretext of giving her chocolate and sexually assaulted her, police said.
According to police, the incident took place between 1 and 3 December.
Police said the girl lived in his locality and the accused would watch her play with her friends in the vicinity. “The accused offered her chocolate and took her inside his shop and pulled the shutter down. He forced himself on her and the girl did not even raise an alarm as the accused had threatened her,” an officer said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Newborn Leopard Found by Morning Walkers in Yeoor Hills
A newborn leopard cub was spotted by morning walkers on the side of the road in Yeoor Hills area in Thane district on Wednesday, a forest official said.
According to officials, walkers heard the animal’s cries near an open gym in the area and alerted forest officials.
They added that while the cub did not have any visible injuries, it appeared weak. It seemed to be no older than two to three days, officials said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. BMC Plans to Convert Seven Hills Hospital Into AIIMS-Like Facility
The BMC is likely to reach out to the Central government for converting Seven Hills Healthcare hospital in Marol into an All India Institute of Medical Sciences-like facility, even as it is looking into options to convert the hospital into a cancer facility on the lines of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital that is struggling to meet the huge patient inflow.
On 29 November, an improvement committee of the BMC had met to discuss the fate of the hospital that was handed over to the civic body after a Supreme Court verdict in November set aside a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal order to revive the hospital under Dr Shetty’s New Medical Centre (SNMC). Dr Rajendra Badwe, director of Tata Memorial Hospital, said the civic body had approached the hospital in the matter. “They asked for the feasibility of starting a cancer facility there (at the Marol hospital). But no further talks have taken place,” he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)