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Maharashtra loses Textile Commissionerate, oppn slams shift from Mumbai to Delhi

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The Centre has decided to move the 80-year-old office of Textile Commissioner, along with other key officers from Mumbai to New Delhi, by April 5, as per an official order.

This is the second major department after the autonomous ‘Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education & Development (DTNBWED)’, which was shifted from Nagpur to New Delhi in 2021.

The latest measure has sparked a fresh furore among the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders who slammed the BJP government for the decision.

As per an order from Jayashree Sivakumar, Under Secretary, Ministry of Textiles to Textile Commissioner Mumbai Roop Rashi, the move is part of measures to “restructure the office of Textile Commissioner and Textile Committee in order to enhance effectiveness and achieve optimal use of resources”.

For this, the Textile Commissioner and few key officials would be relocated to the MoT to strengthen the technical arm of the ministry, deploy/depute officers/staff from the head office to the TC and field offices.

Besides the Textile Commissioner, a Joint Textile Commissioner, two Deputy Secretaries (Director rank) and two Deputy Director level officers would be going to New Delhi as part of the restructure/merger exercise.

While the Textile Commissioner will not be stationed in the MoT, the other officers shall be seated at the Noida regional office.

The Textile Commissioner is a critical appointee, functioning as the principal technical advisor to the MoT, conducts techno-economic surveys, advises the government on the overall status of the textiles sector, with regional offices in Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Indore, Amritsar, Coimbatore and NOIDA.

Managing Partner Purushottam Sarda of Vinayak Process, a textile unit in Sangli, the shift could jeopardise subsidies worth hundreds of crores of rupees are pending for past three years from the Centre to thousands of textile units handlooms, powerlooms, auto-looms like Airjet. Waterjet, Sulzer, Rapier — in the state.

“After the Textile Commissionerate shifts to New Delhi, we shall face huge problems of recovery, and will be forced to make multiple trips which will further add to losses,” Sarda told IANS.

Slamming the move, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said this is part of the BJP’s strategy to take away all offices from Mumbai/Maharashtra to Delhi or Gujarat, though this state is a major hub of the textile industry with units in Mumbai, Thane, and Ichalkaranji of Kolhapur. called the ‘Manchester of the east’.

Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe said that since “they cannot shift Mumbai to Gujarat, the BJP is destroying all important offices/departments by taking them away from Maharashtra to either Delhi or Gujarat”, which is detrimental to the people of this state.

Nationalist Congress Party national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the decision is “hardly surprising” but warned that the people of Maharashtra are watching and they will remember it in the elections.

“The BJP at the Centre is hellbent on putting brakes on Maharashtra’s progress. Ever since the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government took over, all major projects/institutions/departments are being taken away from Mumbai or the state,” said Crasto.

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s national spokesperson Kishore Tiwari wondered why aceall the BJP union ministers from the state and the “ED government here are maintaining a deafening silence, as usual”, and named Nitin Gadkari, Narayan Rane, Piyush Goyal, Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Bharati Pawar, Kapil Patil and Bhagwat Karad, besides Ramdas Athawale.

“Either they lack the courage to speak up for the Marathi people here or they are obviously hand-in-glove with the Centre to ensure the destruction of their own home-state,” said Tiwari.

The Textile Commissionerate here was set up in 1943 at the height of World War II to satisfy the huge British demand for clothing of its armed forces and civilians, and the industry developed in a big way post-Independence.

Maharashtra

Mira Bhayander: Drugs worth Rs 32 crore seized Two Nigerians including an Indian woman arrested, used to sell drugs by creating groups on social media

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Mumbai: Mira Bhayander police have claimed to have arrested two foreign drug peddlers including an Indian woman. The Mira Bhayander Crime Branch had received information that Shabina Sheikh’s house in Kashi Mira had a stash of drugs and that she was also involved in drug trafficking. The police raided it and recovered 11 kg 830 grams of cocaine. A case has been registered against her in the Nowghar police under the NDPS. The arrested accused told the police during interrogation that she used to buy these drugs from a foreign national named Ende and lives in Inder Mira Road. She was also arrested and drugs were seized from her possession and a Nigerian note of 1000 was recovered and 14 notes of 100 US dollars were also found in this case.

After investigation, two Nigerians and an Indian woman were arrested. Drugs worth Rs 23 million have been seized from their possession, in addition to 14 US dollar notes, four mobile phones, and drugs worth Rs 223 million have also been claimed to have been seized. This operation was carried out by a team of the Crime Branch including Mira Bhayandar Police Commissioner Madhu Karpande, Additional Commissioner Dattatreya Shinde, Avinash Ambore. The Crime Branch said that this cocaine was brought here by Nigerians hiding it in their stomachs. This cocaine is manufactured in South America. This cocaine is brought by plane by hiding it in human bodies. First, it is delivered to the Mumbai airport and then sold in various areas through the roads in Mumbai. The accused sell drugs by creating several groups on social media.

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Two arrested in Powai theft cases: Accused committed the crime a stolen motorcycle

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested two accused in two theft cases within 48 hours. On the morning of April 5, two thieves snatched a gold chain from a woman in the limits of Powai police station in Mumbai. A 30-gram gold chain was also recovered from their possession. The second incident took place in front of II Marg Gate in Powai area, in which the accused had inquired where the medical was and then threw a dirty cloth on the complainant’s face and escaped with a 15-gram gold necklace.

The matter was seriously investigated. The next day, at 8:30 am, the accused snatched two gold necklaces weighing 20 grams from the neck of a 45-year-old woman near Hiranandani guard and fled on a motorcycle. To solve all these thefts, the police examined more than 100 CCTV footage during the investigation. It was found that The accused fled towards Bahram Bagh. Then both the accused were arrested and 30 grams of gold ornaments were recovered from their possession. The motorcycle used by the accused for the crime has also been seized. Pappu Gajendra Mishra, 20, and Sunil Ganga Mohte, 20, have been arrested from Andheri. A case of theft has also been registered against the accused Pappu Mishra at Rabori police station 6 months ago and he had stolen a motorcycle six months ago and it was used in this theft as well. This information was given here today by DCP of Mumbai Zone 10, Sachin Kanjal.

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Maharashtra

Strict action against contractor for negligent road concrete work; Ban on tendering for next 2 years, fine also imposed

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Mumbai: Construction of cement concrete roads is going on at a fast pace in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) with the aim of making the roads free from potholes. The BMC administration is stressing on ensuring that the work is of the highest standard.
Strict action is being taken against those who are substandard or negligent.

In this regard, the contractor who caused unacceptable delay in the road concrete work in the Aarey Colony area has been debarred from participating in the tender process of all BMC departments for the next 2 years, and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh has also been imposed.
Similarly, the registration of 2 ready mix concrete (RMC) plants has been cancelled and they have been debarred from supplying concrete mix for any BMC project for 6 months.
In addition, a fine of Rs. 20 lakh each has also been imposed on 2 road contractors.
All these actions have been taken on the directions of BMC Commissioner Shri Bhushan Gagrani. He has made it clear that *no negligence or lapse in the road concrete work will be tolerated* and strict action will be taken against the guilty.

Specific Incidents:

  1. *Aarey Colony – Dinkar Rao Desai Road*:
  • The quality of work was found to be poor in the inspection by Additional Commissioner (Projects) Shri Abhijeet Bangar.
  • The contractor was issued a notice, fined Rs. 5 lakh and directed to rectify immediately.
  • Delay in repairs also resulted in a ban on participation in tenders for 2 years.
  1. *Dr. Neetu Mandke Road, M-East Ward – 20 March 2025*:
  • During a surprise inspection, a difference was found in the slump test (160mm at the plant, 170mm at the site).
  • The concrete load was rejected, the vehicle was sent back, the RMC plant was fined Rs. 20 lakh and banned for 6 months.
  1. *Karagroh Road, B Ward – 1 April 2025*:
  • Slump was found to be 65mm at the plant while 180mm at the site.
  • Notice was given to the contractor and RMC plant, despite admitting the mistake, a fine of Rs 20 lakh and a supply ban of 6 months were imposed.

Importance of Slump Test:

Slump test is done to check the “workability” of concrete. It shows the ratio of cement to water.
If the water is too much, it has a negative impact on the quality.
That is why BMC has made slump test mandatory at both ready mix plants and sites.

Additional Commissioner Mr. Abhijeet Bangar said that BMC officers are inspecting the work themselves, and if any flaw is found, strict action will be taken against the responsible individual or institution. All contractors have to be careful, because no compromise with quality will be accepted.

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