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Maharashtra

Navi Mumbai: Houses Under PM Awas Yojana Built On Mangrove Zones, Greens Complain To PM Modi

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The houses built by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Navi Mumbai have violated the environmental conditions and mangrove buffer zones, Green groups have complained to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PMAY projects, particularly in Mansarovar and Kharghar, areas have come up in proximity of mangroves, mudflats and inter-tidal wetlands, the complaint filed by NatConnect Foundation on PMO Public Grievance website, said.

The status report on the website says the complaint has been referred to the Director in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Arvind Kumar Agrawal. NatConnect attached the recent Google Earth picture and actual ground photographs to fortify its case.

“The compound wall of the Kharghar project, on the northern side of the railway station, almost touches the mangroves with the distance between the sea plants and the project being 8 metres to 25 metres,” Director of the NatConnect Foundation, B N Kumar said and argued that this is in violation of both the central and state clearances given for the projects.

When contacted, a senior CIDCO official said, “We have not defied any CRZ norms since we received environmental clearance for the project on July 8, 2020. It is on the basis of transit-oriented development (TOD). The work on the project started in November, 2020 and was delayed a bit due to Covid-19 pandemic. The revised date of completion of the project is 2025.”

Providing details of the project, the official said the project is RERA registered having 17 towers with 2BHK flats consisting of RERA carpet area of 47.277 sq mtr. The beneficiaries of the apartments would be decided through a lottery system or as per the decision of the management.

The environmental clearance summary, issued by the MoEF&CC clearly stated that no mangroves should be affected during construction of the entire project and that the 50-meter buffer line has to be maintained. There is supposed to be thick vegetation of tall trees with foliage along the buffer line to mitigate any fugitive dust emission etc. towards the mangrove area.

The 143rd meeting of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) held on February 4, 2020 clearly noted that the projects were partly under CRZ1 and hence CIDCO was prohibited from doing any construction in the 50 mtr mangrove buffer zone and to maintain a 100 mtr CRZ setback for the creek. “However, the Kharghar project presents a worrying scene as the PMAY buildings have come up in the danger line,” Kumar said.

Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Hills and Wetland Forum said, “The compound wall will push the high tide line towards the Panvel creek and this is bound to cause flooding in other areas as water finds its own course and does not go by CIDCO walls.”

“What is even more shocking is that the urban planners in all their wisdom appear to be constructing housing colonies into the sea at a time when the rising sea levels has become a major global concern,” she added.

The environmental clearances have been given post the state mangrove cell visits and with conditions that the mangrove zones should not be impacted. The environmentalists, therefore, call for a thorough on-the-spot inquiry and taking measures to save the people and properties.

“Afterall, it is the tax-payers’ hard earned money that goes as subsidies into the PMAY project,” NatConnect said and offered to accompany the probe teams and point out the violations.  

Maharashtra

Mumbai Police equipped with modern laboratories and technology: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has equipped itself with modern technology to curb cyber crime and cyber fraud. Accordingly, Mumbai Police inaugurated three cyber labs including a forensic lab, a special van, an intercept van and other modern equipment at the hands of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Speaking on the occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the police has been modernized to curb cyber fraud and online fraud and the police will use these modern equipment to solve crimes ranging from cyber fraud to other crimes.

Fadnavis said that the way incidents like digital arrests are happening today by fooling people online, the police has brought significant revolution in the investigation methods and other things to curb these incidents. He said that special help rooms have also been set up in police stations to help women, in which women will get immediate help. He said that a special van has also been prepared for women so that they can get immediate help. Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Pansalkar, Special Police Commissioner Devin Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Satyanarayan Chaudhary and senior officers were present at the event.

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Maharashtra

Bir Mecca Masjid bomb blast implementation of UAPA

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Mumbai: Police has implemented UAPA Act in the Bir Ard Masla Mecca Masjid blast case. On the midnight of March 30, Vijay Agon and Shri Ram Ashok placed a bomb in the mosque and exploded it. This explosion was done with the help of jetliner and detonator. In this case, the police had earlier registered a case under Arms Act and other sections, but after that Muslim organizations had demanded to prosecute the accused under UAPA Act and NSA.
The Beed blast was investigated by the local crime branch, in which the crime branch found that the explosion was very powerful and detonators were also used along with jetliner rods. On this basis, UAPA Act has been implemented on the recommendation of the Crime Branch. Police have registered a case against both the terrorists under sections 16 and 18 of UAPA. Since the Beed blast, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is investigating it along with the police. The ATS is investigating the connection and financing of terrorists in this case, including how jetliner rods were made available to the accused and who provided them jetliner rods without license or permit. Along with this, investigation is also going on to find out how many more people and conspirators are involved in this case. ATS said that investigation is going on every aspect and point of the Beed bomb blast, however, ATS has so far questioned many people in this case, including family members and well-wishers of the accused as well as their friends and acquaintances. ATS is trying to uncover the conspiracy before the blast in the Beed Mecca Masjid blast case because before the blast, accused Vijay Agon had released a video and uploaded it on the status threatening Muslims to remove the mosque and only after that the blast took place here. The local police had also registered a case of spreading religious hatred against the accused a day earlier and the mosque was blown up the next day.

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Crime

Actor Ajaz Khan’s Wife Fallon Guliwala Granted Bail in Drugs Case

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Mumbai: Fallon Guliwala, wife of actor Ajaz Khan, who was arrested in November 2024 after narcotics were recovered from her residence, has been granted bail by a special court in Mumbai.

Guliwala had been in custody for over four months. The court has imposed certain conditions for her bail, including the submission of her passport, a restriction on travel, and mandatory attendance before the investigating officer three times a week until the chargesheet is filed.

Her lawyer, Ayaz Khan, argued that she was unaware of the recovered items and that she was not the only occupant of the premises. He also mentioned that the CCTV system was turned off during the raid, and no videography or photography was conducted.

Special Public Prosecutor Vibhavari Pathak opposed the bail plea, stating that a prima facie case existed against Guliwala.

Considering that the seizure process had already been completed, the court granted bail but with strict conditions.

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