1. BJP Strikes a Deal With Shiv Sena for MHADA, CIDCO
The BJP and Shiv Sena have seemingly negotiated a deal on state-run corporations. According to sources, a workable arrangement is in place and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to open up appointments later this month. The all-important City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) will go to the BJP, and Shiv Sena will bag Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). While the CM has made up his mind, there hasn’t been any confirmation from Sena party president Uddhav Thackeray.
Both CIDCO and MHADA are seen as important agencies that have a lot of clout in the city. By opening up posts in these corporations, the CM is also looking at wooing Shiv Sena, which has declared that it will fight the next election on its own. Party sources said that Fadnavis is also set to announce names for at least 15 other state-run boards to pacify disgruntled leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Mumbai Educational Institute Opens Its Doors to Transgenders
Another educational institute has opened its doors to transgenders. SNDT Women’s University, Juhu, announced on Thursday that their admission form would now have a box that will allow students to identify themselves as transgenders, following which the admission for people from the community would open soon.
“We are following the footsteps of our founder and believe that everyone has an equal right to education. Thus SNDT University has initiated this so that transgenders would be involved. The proposal has been submitted to the management and various courses for transgenders will be incorporated soon,” said Dr Meena Kute, registrar, SNDT Women’s University.
SNDT (Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey) Women’s University, the first women’s university in India as well as in South-East Asia, was founded by Maharshi Dr Dhondo Keshav Karve in 1916. The university’s main campus is at Churchgate. Other campuses are at Juhu and Karve Road, Pune.
Source: Hindustan Times
3. 18-yr-old Dies After Epilepsy Attack Inside BKC Toilet
An 18-year-old man died after allegedly suffering an attack of epilepsy inside a public toilet at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Friday, police said.
On Thursday, Ibrahim Sheikh, a resident of Dharavi, had come to meet his aunt Bilkis Bano (50), who along with others from Dnyaneshwar Nagar in suburban Bandra East had launched a hunger strike near the Metro-3 office against demolition of their houses.
The slums in Dnyaneshwar Nagar had been declared illegal and some of them were demolished for the Metro-3 project, said senior police inspector Kalpana Gadekar of BKC police station.
After meeting his aunt, Sheikh stayed at the site of the hunger strike Thursday night.
He suffered an attack of epilepsy when visiting a nearby public toilet around 11 am on Friday and died on the spot, Gadekar said.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack: HC Stays Trial Against Abu Jundal Till June 11
The Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the 26/11 terror attacks trial against alleged LeT operative Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal pending hearing of a plea filed by the Delhi Police against a lower court order, which asked them to provide travel documents to the accused.
The Delhi police's Special Cell had approached the high court earlier this month claiming privilege over the documents and urged the court to quash and set aside the trial court's order. Justice Nitin Sambre on Friday posted the petition for hearing on June 11 but stayed the trial against Jundal till then.
The petitioner's counsel Hiten Venegaonkar argued that the documents were classified and hence could not be shared with the defence. Jundal's lawyer Yug Chaudhary, however, argued that the rights of the accused were being curtailed.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. Road Works Scam: Losses Shrink From Rs 900 Cr to Rs 63 Cr
The quantum of losses suffered by the BMC in the road works scam — said to be one of the biggest scams to have rocked the civic body in recent times — has suddenly shrunk from a whopping Rs 900 crore to Rs 63 crore, if the corporation’s own submission is anything to go by.
In a written reply to a query from Samajwadi Party corporator Rais Shaikh, the BMC’s roads department has claimed that it has to recover Rs 63.14 crore from the corrupt contractors, whose shoddy constructions and repair works have led to a reduction in the lifespan of the roads. Of this amount, Rs 41.53 crore has already been recovered, the reply adds.
However, questions are bound to be asked about the new figure in the light of the BMC’s own probe report in 2016, which had stated that six contractors had cheated the city of Rs 572 crore by cutting corners in construction of over 234 roads. Mumbai Mirror had carried a report on the probe in November 2016.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Maharashtra Government to Install 2,500 Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines Across State
In order to ensure proper disposal of plastic bottles, the state government will soon install 2,500 plastic bottle crushing machines at public places with larger footfall areas across the state.
Of these, 500 will be installed in Mumbai alone. The local body, which is the implementing agency for plastic ban, will select places for installation in public areas.
A senior civic official said, “We are getting more machines, around 2,000, to install across the state. We need maximum machines at public places. Two different machines have been installed at BMC headquarters for demonstration and it has received a good response.”
The machines, which the state will obtain through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for free, will be installed at tourist spots, gardens, markets and other areas with higher footfall. One of the members of the plastic manufacturing associations confirmed the development, saying, “There is no pre-decided number yet, but maximum machines will be placed in public places. We are looking forward to sit with the government to request them to exempt more items from the plastic ban, since it will affect lakhs of jobs across the state.”
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Mulund: World’s Largest Bio-mining Project Set to Start This Year
THE BRIHANMUMBAI Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to carry out the world’s largest bio-mining project at the Mulund dumping ground. The civic body has finalised a five-year contract with Mumbai-based Prakash Constrowell Limited to reclaim the dumping ground at a cost of Rs 558 crore. Officials said the project will result in the recovery of 24 hectares, and bio-mining of 7 million tonnes of solid waste. BMC has set a target to start the project in the 2018-19 financial year.
“Bio-mining has happened on a small scale in cities like Bangalore, Triambakeshwar and Nandurbar in India and in South Korea, Germany and USA. This project on 24 hectares would be the largest in the world,” said Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects).
He added that subject on bio-mining mining was also a part of the Indo-EU joint technical cooperation on solid waste. “In Deonar, we are focusing on waste to energy project. Once Mulund project is up and going, Deonar would be the next in line,” he said.
Source: The Indian Express
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