1. MHADA to Transfer 300 Flats to BMC to Shift Mahul Residents
To rehabilitate residents from the polluted Mahul area, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will transfer 300 of its available flats to BMC by 1 February.
The decision was taken at a meeting called by Minister for Environment Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday. The meeting was also attended by Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad and officials from housing, urban development and environment departments.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Nirav’s Assets on the Block: Hermes Bags and Jaeger Lecoultre Watch up for Auction
A selection of assets belonging to diamond merchant Nirav Modi — including paintings by master artists, as well as luxury cars, watches and handbags — are set to be auctioned by Saffronart on the direction of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), over the next two months.
On 27 February, 15 artworks, two cars and a selection of the handbags and watches will go under the hammer at a live auction. Among them are a 1935 painting by Amrita Sher-Gil (on the block for the first time on record), and a canvas from MF Husain’s Mahabharata series, each with a lower estimate of ₹12 crore and a higher estimate of ₹18 crore. A 1972 painting by VS Gaitonde is estimated to fetch over ₹7 crore and one of Krishna by Manjit Bawa, over ₹3 crore.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Mumbai Metro Chief Ashwini Bhide Among 20 IAS Officers Transferred in Maharashtra
In a major reshuffle of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers on Tuesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray transferred Ashwini Bhide from the post of chief of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is implementing the Metro-3 project.
Bhide, who is credited for implementing the project rapidly, had invited the criticism of environmentalists after the MMRC felled more than 2,000 trees in the dead of the night in Aarey Milk Colony for a Metro car shed in October last year.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Constitution Preamble Reading Made Mandatory From 26 January in Maharashtra Schools
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday directed all schools in the state to start daily group readings of the preamble of the Constitution of India by students. The schools have been told to start the exercise from 26 January – Republic Day.
In a circular that was issued on Tuesday, the school education department said the aim of the exercise was to make students aware of the core values of the Constitution .
This is not the first time schools have been asked to start preamble reading. In February 2013, the then Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government had issued the same order.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Man Arrested for Impersonating IPS Officer, Extortion Bid, Say Police
A man allegedly posing as an IPS officer was arrested by Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Monday for attempting to extort Rs 70 lakh from a South Mumbai jeweller.
In 2016, the complainant had tried to help the sons of another jeweller in Hyderabad after they were arrested for allegedly trying to convert black money into white following demonetisation.
At that time, the Hyderabad jeweller had given an acquaintance of the complainant 5 kg gold to submit in court as he did not have cash. However, the acquaintance allegedly neither returned the gold nor finished the bail procedure.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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