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Maharashtra

Govt informs Bombay HC, will issue fresh notices to encroachers over ‘gairan’ land

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Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay high court that it will issue fresh notices to alleged encroachers on government owned ‘gairan’ land (open land used for cattle grazing), giving them 30 days to show why they should be allowed to continue occupation of the land.

According to government data, there are approximately 2,22,153 illegal constructions on its ‘gairan’ land, totalling 4.52 lakh hectares, of which the approximate encroached area is 10,089 hectares, or 2.23 per cent.

The HC had taken suo motu (on its own) cognizance of encroachments on such fodder land while dismissing another public interestlitigation (PIL) related to the issue in June 2022. In the earlier PIL, they had found that the petitioner had been pursuing a personal cause against a lawyer, cloaked as a PIL.


Government would give 30 days to the alleged encroachers to show that they were legally occupying the land

Advocate General Birendra Saraf submitted a draft notice before a division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne on Monday. Saraf said that the government would give 30 days to the alleged encroachers to show that they were legally occupying the land.

If they failed to reply in the stipulated time, then within 60 days thereafter, the government would take action as prescribed under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC).

As per earlier court directions, he also submitted a draft notice before the court. Amicus curiae (friend of the court), advocate Ashutosh Kulkarni, pointed out to the court that, in December 2022, the HC had asked the government to give details, indicating the basis for regularisation of some of these structures till July 2011.

Also, the court had asked the government to show the policy it had been following for removal of encroachment on ‘gairan’ land and submit a roadmap for the year. Kulkarni said that none of these had been done by the government.

However, Saraf said that they would be taking necessary steps as prescribed under the MLRC.

Justice Gangapurwala said that the persons should point out their rights to the government, which would help in deciding whether they were eligible for rehabilitation under any government scheme.

In December 2022, Bombay HC restrained the government from evicting and removing over two lakh illegal structures on ‘gairan’ land

An advocate for one of the persons pointed out to the court that the government has still not declared these lands as ‘gairan’ land. “First, these lands have to be declared gairan land and then the notices can be issued. Here, the government has directly issued notices,” said the advocate.

However, the court asked them to raise the point with the government in reply to the notices, as and when these would be issued. The HC has kept the matter for hearing in March.

The high court had, in December 2022, restrained the government from evicting and removing over two lakh illegal structures on ‘gairan’ land. The court had also directed the government to give a roadmap on what it proposed to do.

The government was also asked to give “a draft format of notice to be issued to the alleged encroachers of Gairan land, granting sufficient time to the noticees to establish their right to remain in occupation of such lands”. The government said the authorities had removed 24,513 encroachments from July 12, 2011, to September 15, 2022, while 12,652 encroachments had been regularised till July 12, 2011.

Maharashtra

Mahayuti’s overspending derailing Maharashtra’s financial legacy: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’

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Mumbai, June 25: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Thursday claimed that the Mahayuti government’s move to present supplementary demands of Rs 97,706.40 crore, barely three months after the annual budget 2026-27, exposes the deterioration in Maharashtra’s financial discipline.

The party said that with public debt soaring to nearly Rs 11 lakh crore, an annual interest burden of Rs 60,000 crore and arbitrary spending from the state treasury, the economy of the Maharashtra government has completely collapsed.

The Thackeray camp, in a scathing editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, taunted that the present situation mirrors an economics student who attaches supplement after supplement to their answer sheet during an exam, only to barely secure a passing grade when the results are announced. “Maharashtra’s ‘supplementary’ champion government is publicly making a mockery of the state’s devastated economy by setting records in supplementary demands,” it remarked.

The editorial argued that for any government, having to hold out a begging bowl for supplementary demands right after the budget is highly embarrassing. “The state government’s financial planning has completely derailed due to reckless extravagance on non-productive activities. Maharashtra once enjoyed an excellent reputation for its financial discipline, but over the last four years, this reputation has completely withered away. During these past four years, the Mahayuti government has gone on a relentless spree of bringing supplementary demands of nearly Rs 5 lakh crore. This is a world record for extra-budgetary spending,” said the editorial.

The Thackeray camp said that ideally, supplementary demands should be utilised just days before the next budget if allocated funds run short at the end of the fiscal year or if a new scheme is suddenly launched. “Today, however, allocations are intentionally concealed in the main budget, and thousands of crores are later demanded through supplementary routes to serve political motives. This time, the government has crossed all limits. With nine full months remaining until the next budget, the government’s revenue and expenditure estimates collapsed within the first three months,” it commented.

The editorial said ironically, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power and presented significantly lower supplementary demands, leaders of the current regime — who were then in the opposition — criticised them fiercely, alleging a total breakdown of financial discipline. “Today, those very opposition leaders serve as the state’s Chief Minister and Finance Minister. Despite supplementary demands crossing Rs 5 lakh crore in four years under their watch, they no longer view it as financial indiscipline,” it added.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena sarcastically said the ‘Supplementary-Champion’ government is setting a record for supplementary demands and publicly humiliating the economy of a state that was once renowned for its financial discipline. The government is out in the open, single-handedly dismantling the economic legacy of a state once revered for its financial rectitude.

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Maharashtra

The government should immediately withdraw the FIRs registered against schools in Mumbai’s slum areas, make them permanent by relaxing the conditions: Abu Asim Azmi

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Mumbai, June 24, 2026: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Abu Asim Azmi, raised the issue of private schools running in slums (slum areas) in the House during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly. He has demanded that the FIR registered against the principal, secretaries and chairman of these schools be withdrawn immediately and these schools should be saved from closure. Addressing the House, Abu Asim Azmi said, “My constituency Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar is a very poor and backward area. Around 30 to 35 thousand children are studying in private schools here. The capacity of BMC schools in this area has been completely exhausted and there is a long waiting list of children for new admissions. In such a situation, these private schools are the only support for the education of poor children.

Key demands and points:
Relaxation of conditions and regularization

The conditions of the government for approving schools such as open space, playground, etc. are practically impossible to meet in slum areas. Therefore, the government should make special laws for these areas and regularize them. FIRs registered against the management of these schools in Shivaji Nagar and Deonar police stations The R should be withdrawn immediately. He said that the result of these schools is more than 90 percent and their educational standard is better than BMC schools. Here, teachers are teaching children for a meager salary of just Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 7,000. He added that there has been a delay in the formation of the committee. In the last meeting, the government had also assured to form an inquiry committee on this issue, but no committee has been formed so far. Abu Asim Azmi warned that if these schools are closed due to administrative action, the future of 30 to 35 thousand poor children will be completely dark. He has strongly appealed to the government to intervene in this matter immediately.

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Maharashtra

Fake BMC Deputy Commissioner Altaf Sheikh arrested

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Mumbai: Crime Branch claims to have arrested a young man who used to deceive people by posing as BMC Deputy Commissioner. The Crime Branch investigated the complaint of a 45-year-old man named Altaf Sheikh and found the complaint to be valid, after which the Crime Branch laid a trap and arrested him. He also used to use a car with a light. Apart from this, an identity card was also recovered from his possession, a fake sticker of the Government of India and a fake card were also recovered. The accused used to use an official visiting card and used to declare himself as BMC Deputy Commissioner. He was arrested from Malad in a car with a light. This operation was carried out by DCP Raj Tilak Roshan of Mumbai Crime Branch.

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