Mumbai: The Budget Estimates for the financial year 2026-27 presented by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Administration were approved with the proposed amendments in the Municipal Corporation House yesterday (8th May 2026). As per the approved Budget (Modified Budget Estimates 2026-27), the Municipal Corporation Administration has immediately made the funds given to the Municipal Corporation members for development works available on the SAP system. Due to this, the civic services, amenities and local development works recommended by the esteemed corporators in the Standing Committee and Municipal Corporation meetings will get a boost. Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar, Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde, Shiv Sena Group Leader Umay Ghole have expressed satisfaction over this immediate action. This year, the general elections of the Municipal Corporation were held in January 2026, after which the election process for the posts of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and then various statutory, special and committee posts was completed. During this, the Municipal Corporation administration presented the budget estimate for the financial year 2026-2027 on February 25, 2026. As per the prescribed procedure, the budget was discussed in the Standing Committee and after necessary amendments, the Standing Committee placed the revised budget before the Municipal Corporation meeting. After 12 days of discussion, the income side of the budget was approved on April 30, 2026 in the Municipal Corporation meeting. Thus, the entire budget with amendments has been approved in the Municipal Corporation meeting.

As per the regular procedure till now, the budget is expected to be approved before the beginning of the financial year. However, this year, the budget approval was delayed due to the elections and the subsequent process.

Keeping this in mind and the need to expedite the local development works proposed by the members of the Municipal Corporation, it was of utmost importance to implement the revised budget immediately. In this regard, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide had directed that the budget for amendments be made available on the SAP system immediately, so that the concerned departments can immediately complete the administrative approval, tender process and start the implementation of the local development works.

Accordingly, under the guidance of Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, the Finance Department of the Municipal Corporation working under the supervision of Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar, Joint Commissioner (Finance) Devidas Kshirsagar, Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, and Chief Accountant (Finance Department) Prashant Gaikwad. Late last night, May 8, 2026, uploaded the budget for amendments in the SAP system. This urgent action by the Municipal Corporation administration will boost various local development works in Mumbai.

Navi Mumbai, May 9: Panvel City Police solved a Rs 1.5 crore theft of materials belonging to Tata Projects Limited, stored on railway land, within six hours, arresting three accused and recovering stolen property and cash worth Rs 1.6 crore.

The police recovered 100 per cent of the stolen material and also exposed the involvement of an insider in the case.

The theft took place on April 28 from a site in Karanjade Sector-1, where Tata Projects Limited had stored construction materials for a railway bridge project on railway premises.

Unknown persons had stolen materials worth Rs 1.5 crore from the location.

After a case was registered at Panvel City Police Station, special teams were formed under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thackeray.

Acting on technical analysis, intelligence inputs and local inquiries, the police arrested three accused within six hours and recovered the entire stolen material in the following days.

During the investigation, the main accused was identified as Vijaykumar Babulal Verma, a supervisor with the company, who allegedly instigated the theft and facilitated the crime.

He had reportedly taken Rs 10 lakh from the co-accused in return. The police later recovered the cash amount from his residence.

“We were able to crack the case within six hours using technical inputs and local intelligence. The entire stolen property has been recovered and further investigation is underway,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole.

A total of Rs 1.6 crore worth of property, including Rs 1.5 crore in stolen materials and Rs 10 lakh in cash, has been seized, police said.

Mira Bhayandar: In a significant crackdown on the narcotics trade, the Crime Detection Branch (Unit 4) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police has dismantled a major drug trafficking gang. Officials seized 6.773 kg of Mephedrone (MD), valued at approximately ₹13.61 crore in the international market.

The operation began on May 4, following a precise tip-off received by a team led by Police Inspector Pramod Badakh. The information suggested a large stockpile of drugs at the Chedda Adarsh building in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road.

Upon raiding the premises, police recovered 1.324 kg of MD worth ₹2.66 crore from the residence of a woman identified as Firdos Arbaz Qureshi. Investigators determined that the contraband belonged to her husband, Arbaz Vakil Qureshi. Both were immediately taken into custody.

During the interrogation of the Qureshi couple, the police uncovered a wider network of suppliers and distributors. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of several other accomplices across different regions

Moiz Javed Khan (Behram Baug, Jogeshwari), Arman Ali Kalam Ali Rain & Sunil Kamal Yadav (Oshiwara), Mohammad Wasim Yusuf Sheikh (Shanti Park, Mira Road), Irfan Anwar Kudiya (Rajkot, Gujarat), Mohammad Arafat Shamsuddin Ansari (Byculla), Khalda Arafat Ansari (Madanpura, Byculla), Akash Satyaram Yadav (New Link Road, Jogeshwari)

The total recovery stands at 6.773 kg, with the largest portion of the drugs being traced back to and seized from the Agripada area in Mumbai.

Total Value of Seized MD is ₹13,61,38,480

The MBVV Police are currently investigating the “forward and backward linkages” of this syndicate to identify the original manufacturers and the end consumers to whom the gang intended to sell the illegal substances.