QMumbai: Top Builder’s Loan Default; Sion Flyover Shut From April

All the Mumbai news you should read today.

1. Top Builder’s Loan Default: Judge’s Clever Idea to Seal Over 100 Flats

A weary legal process against loan defaulters that often takes weeks was reduced to only a day after a judge had a brainwave.

Additional metropolitan magistrate Laxmikant Bidwai appointed five young lawyers as court commissioners to seal 101 apartments being constructed by an RNA Corp firm in Malad. The firm, Skyline Construction, is accused of not paying back over Rs 14 core to Bank of Baroda, according to a court order.

All the 101 flats, in RNA Imperia complex, were reportedly locked up on March 9 under the supervision of advocates Sunil R Pandey, Manoj R Bachate, Abhishek S More, Pradnya S Surve and Sapna H Jagtap. The five are members of the Esplanade Court Bar Association. The company denied on Monday the flats had been sealed.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

2. 350 Able-bodied Commuters Caught Travelling in Disabled Coach

Around 350 able-bodied commuters were caught travelling in the disabled compartment of local trains during a joint drive by the Railway Police Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Monday. Of the ones caught, 119 cases were registered under the new Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, which entails a fine of up to Rs 1lakh or jail term up to two years.

The rest of the errant passengers managed to escape with a lighter charge – section 155 of the Railway Act, which carries a maximum fine of up to Rs 500, and section 43 of the Mumbai police act– for want of a written complaint from disabled commuters.

The drive is part of an effort by authorities to address the woes of disabled passengers. “We have decided to conduct the drive as we have been receiving several complaints from disabled commuters. The idea is to not just prosecute commuters but to also deter others,” said Niket Kaushik, GRP Commissioner.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

3. Sion Flyover Shut From April: Mumbaiites, Brace for Traffic Snarls on Eastern Express Highway

Traffic woes are set to increase for commuters taking the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to start repair works on the Sion flyover by mid-April.

The MSRDC is set to finalize the tenders by the end of this month, post which the work of replacing 170 bearings on the Sion flyover is set to begin, officials said. The work which will cost about Rs5 crore, will take about six months to be completed, including the monsoon period.

An official from the MSRDC - bridges department, said, “We are aiming to start the work by April 10 or 15. Traffic will have to be shut on the flyover for the repair period.”

The bearings help in controlling movement between the piers and the girders of the bridge. According to officials, a study by the Civil Engineering department, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) said the flyover required remedial measures for its badly damaged bearings and expansion joints.

Source: Hindustan Times

4. Dummy Candidate Racket: Some Government Employees Were Directly Given Appointment Letters

CUSTODIAL interrogation of 15 government employees who were recruited through what came to be known as a state-wide dummy candidate racket has revealed that some of those appointed did not even fill up application forms and were directly handed over appointment letters in return of money.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that is probing the racket has till now verified the identities of 49 in-service employees, now posted across Maharashtra, who have got government jobs after dummy candidates appeared for them in exams.

Fifteen such employees were arrested on March 6. On Monday, the five-day police custody of the 15 government servants ended and they were again produced in a court in Nanded. The court extended their custody by three more days after hearing the arguments of the prosecution.

Source: The Indian Express

5. BJP’s 4th Rs Nomination Causes Flutter in Polls

Ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, the BJP has added an element of unpredictability to the otherwise dull and predictable polls by fielding a fourth candidate from the state. As of now there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats from Maharashtra.

The six members of Rajya Sabha are retiring this month and to elect the new members, elections will be held on March 23. As per the strength of each party in the assembly, BJP is eligible for three seats, while the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are allotted one member each.

The four candidates who filed nomination for Maharashtra are Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javdekar, former CM Narayan Rane, V Murlidharan and state women commission’s Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

6. DGCA Grounds 11 Airbus Planes of Indigo, GoAir

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Monday ordered Indi-Go and GoAir to immediately ground 11 A320neo planes powered by a certain series of Pratt & Whitney engines after three incidents of mid-air engine failures in less than a month.

Concerns over the safety of such planes increased with another engine failure forcing emergency landing of IndiGo flight at Ahmedabad airport yesterday, and the regulator has cracked the whip saying that there is no concrete proposal in place at this stage to address the issue.

A total of 14 A320neo aircraft fitted with specific series of engines – 11 operated by IndiGo and 3 by GoAir – have now been grounded. Three Indi-Go planes are already on the ground following the problem.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

7. Maharashtra Budget: Health Sector Requires More Funding, Say Activists

Activists from the Jan Arogya Abhiyan (JAA), which is a coalition of groups working on issues related to health, have criticised the Maharashtra government’s budget, saying the health sector witnessed major fund cuts. The cuts come at a time when there is a growing need for greater fund allocation in the health sector, activists said. While the budget for the National Health Mission (NHM) was reduced by Rs 844 crore for 2018-19, the budget for medicines has been cut by Rs 104 crore, from Rs 471 crore in 2017-18.

“Even as the Union Budget announced a National Health Protection Scheme to provide Rs 5 lakh insurance cover to 10 crore families, the state government has made no provisions for it this year,” said Vinod Shinde of the JAA.

The state government’s insurance scheme, the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Arogya Yojana, was allocated Rs 571 crore this year, lower than the revised expenditure of Rs 1,550 crore in 2017-18. The insurance scheme provides a maximum insurance coverage of Rs 1.5 lakh for a family annually.

Source: The Indian Express

8. IIT-Bombay Drop Box to Collect Complaints on Sexism Vandalised

DAYS AFTER three drop boxes were installed at IIT-Bombay for women students to comment on the discrimination and sexism they experience on campus, one of the boxes has been vandalised. “This kind of behaviour shows that students are still not comfortable with women talking about gender discrimination here. The campus is very sensitive to the issue,” said a student from the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student body that started the campaign ‘#IITBWomenSpeak’ on March 4. The campaign was started ahead of International Women’s Day and was supported by another student organisation, ‘Swara’.

Soumyo Mukherjee, dean of student affairs, said that while he was aware of the campaign, but he hadn’t heard of the vandalism. “Casual sexism and gender discrimination are very deeply ingrained in our society. We need sustained sensitising campaigns to address this problem. The student affairs cell and the women’s cell make continued efforts to sensitise students about gender discrimination,” said Mukherjee.

Source: The Indian Express