Latur: Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil has said the construction of two government hostels, with a capacity of 100 students each, in Latur district will boost education for those belonging to the underprivileged sections.

Patil laid the foundation stone of the hostel buildings, to come up in Chakur taluka, on Wednesday.

The initiative aims to provide quality educational facilities to the economically weaker and marginalised students, helping them achieve academic excellence, he said.

Patil reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring justice and equal opportunities for all sections of the society.

The two-storey buildings will have residential rooms, dining hall, modern library and study areas, and Rs 15 crore have been sanctioned for each of the two facilities.

Mumbai, Sep 11: Maharashtra Guardian Minister for Mumbai Suburbs Ashish Shelar on Thursday said that more than 25,000 buildings in the metropolis, which have long been denied Occupation Certificates (OC), will soon be regularised under a new government policy.

The move, which comes ahead of the upcoming civic polls, will be a huge relief to lakhs of Mumbaikars who have been living in these structures for years, but were technically considered “unauthorised occupants”.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), urban development department, revenue department and the co-operation department, he said.

“A policy is being framed to grant OCs to buildings constructed under the Development Control Regulations of the BMC, as well as projects of MHADA, SRA and other authorities. For several reasons, these had not received the certificates,” Shelar said.

These problems arose due to loopholes in past rules or mistakes committed by developers, he said. “The urban development department will implement a new policy from October 2 to resolve such issues and grant OCs in a simplified manner,” the minister added.

Shelar said that buildings where OCs had been withheld due to technical or administrative lapses during construction, floor space discrepancies, “setback issues” or changes in regulations would now be eligible for relief.

“Even in cases where developers have failed to hand over the required flats or spaces to the authorities, residents will not be penalised. The process will be transparent and conducted online,” he said.

The minister urged housing societies to take the initiative in applying for OCs. “Societies can apply jointly or individually for a part-OC under the new policy. If an application is submitted within the first six months, no penalty will be imposed. However, in cases of additional FSI (floor space index) usage, the applicable premium will have to be paid,” Shelar stated.

Thanking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and officials for taking the “pro-people” decision, he said, “I appeal to all Mumbaikars to avail of this opportunity from October 2 onwards.”

After the violence and unrest in Mumbai Nepal, Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi also expressed concern about the situation in India and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to sit down and take the opposition along so that a situation like Nepal does not arise in India. Since the governments have become corrupt and corrupt, that is why people in Nepal have protested on the streets and violent clashes have taken place. He said that corruption and mismanagement are on the rise in India. Big contracts are being given to the rich. From selling vegetables to everything being given to Adani and Reliance, where will the poor go in such a situation? He said that those who believe in Gandhiji will never tolerate corruption and mismanagement. He said that just as Gandhiji drove away the British, the people will unite against corruption. Azmi said that the situation that has arisen in Nepal has also had an impact on India because violence and insurgency are common in India’s neighboring countries Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and now Nepal. In such a situation, India also needs to keep an eye on it. Expressing concern over the situation in Nepal, Azmi said that such situations arise when the government becomes corrupt, incompetent and insensitive. The same has happened in Nepal too, so we also need to remain alert.