Mumbai, Feb 26: Shiv Sena(UBT) on Wednesday showered praise on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis while congratulating him for his strong measures to bring discipline in the state administration, especially by taking stern action against fixers and brokers.

The Thackeray camp in the party mouthpiece Saamana’s editorial has thereby targeted former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying that during his tenure the fixers and brokers had a free run.

“Due to rampant corruption, state politics has become rotten. Financial indiscipline has reached its peak. The money needed to buy and then feed MLAs, MPs, corporators and real Shiv Sena office-bearers was collected by looting roads, construction contractors, various state undertakings such as MMRDA, MSRDC, MHADA, SRA, and the Urban Development Department. Many switched parties to get the money from that loot,” the editorial read.

“Where did this flow of money come from? This money was accumulated through illegal tenders, fake works, commissions in fund allocation, plot scams and brokerage in housing construction. The latest news is that Shinde’s Chief Collector has fled to Dubai with ten thousand crore rupees,” claims the Saamana editorial.

“The Shinde faction has been nervous due to Fadnavis’ cleanliness movement. The tender of Rs 500 crore was increased to Rs 3,000 crore and in between Rs 1,000 crore was taken even before the commencement of the work. Out of which Rs 100 to 200 crore were to be distributed among the followers (Shinde) and all of the money is being used by taking them for a holy dip in Ganga at Prayagraj,” the edit piece says

“Fadnavis has started the sacred work of putting an end to all these manipulators. It would be surprising if Shinde and his people have not been angered by this! Fadnavis did another important work as Chief Minister. He took away the power to appoint the ‘PA’ and ‘OSD’ of the ministers. Out of the names sent by the ministers as ‘PA’ and ‘OSD’ to the Chief Minister for approval, 16 names were directly rejected by the Chief Minister. This was because these 16 people were engaged in fixing and brokerage by becoming OSD (officer on special duty) in the previous Shinde (Mindhe) led government. Chief Minister Fadnavis rejected all these ‘fixers’. The Chief Minister’s stance that he will not give the posts to ‘fixers’ is correct,” reads the editorial. It has further come to light that the 16 rejected, 12 were suggested by the Ministers from the Shinde camp to be their OSDs.

“During the Eknath Shinde era, the Ministry was a ‘fair’ for brokers and fixers. Anyone could come, deposit a percentage of the total contract and approve the funds and works. The works were given when the treasury was in a state of turmoil. Development works were approved in a hurry on the eve of the elections. The contractors did the work, but since the work was not properly approved, the contractors’ bills were delayed. Contractors’ associations have said that there is an arrear of about Rs 90,000 crore for various government works. Out of this, Rs 25,000 crore has already been taken as ‘brokerage’.”

“To keep the MLAs and MPs (Shinde-Ajit group) happy, they signed the papers. On the strength of those signed papers, these people took crores from the contractors. Now, with Devendra Fadnavis’ move to reconsider these works, the Shinde group’s calculations have gone haywire as they are reeling under the financial crisis…The people, who are going to the Shinde group, are either contractors or direct beneficiaries… if the Chief Minister has decided to destroy all these corrupt hoarders, then what will happen to all these fixers and hoarders?”, the editorial says.

“Many tricks of loot have come to light in three years. A French company accused MMRDA of ‘commission’ extortion. This company is involved in the construction of the Metro. The bills for regular work done by this company are being deliberately delayed. Foreign companies are told that the bills will not be cleared unless the ‘master’s’ commission is received. This is only defaming our country,” the edit piece reads.

“Deputy Chief Minister Shinde had recently met Union Minister Amit Shah and complained that CM Fadnavis is hitting them on the stomach … If the stomachs of MLAs and MPs remain empty, your party will not survive, Shinde told Shah. On the contrary, PM Modi’s role is to end corruption. Prime Minister Modi recently announced, ‘Just tell me the names of those who are taking money, and I will straighten them out one by one’. Then in such a situation, Fadnavis would not have any objection to telling Prime Minister Modi the names of Shinde and his fixers,” the Saamana editorial says.

Mumbai: Rubina Akib Inamdar, a female ticket inspector of Central Railway, collected Rs. 45K fines from 150 ticketless passengers over a day on the Central route on Monday. It becomes difficult to travel on trains when the ticketless passenger footfall increases, especially in the AC local and first-class coaches.

General compartment commuters often travel in AC trains and first-class coaches during peak hours. Because of this issue, ticket checkers are conducting large-scale checks on both the Central and Western routes.

Rubina Akib Inamdar caught the ticketless passengers on the Central line, collecting over Rs. 45,705 in a single day. She is being praised on social media, especially on X.

Check Post by Central Railway

Central Railway recently posted on X, stating, ”Record-breaking single-day performance in ticket checking. Congrats to Rubina Akib Inamadar, (TTI) Travelling Ticket Inspector, Tejaswini 2 Batch, Mumbai Division. Today, she detected a total of 150 irregular/without-ticket cases, generating Rs. 45,705 in ticket checking revenue, including Rs. 16,430 from 57 without-ticket cases in First Class. A truly rockstar single-day performance”.

The most special achievement is that Rubina caught 57 people travelling without tickets in first class, collecting Rs.14,000 from these irregular passengers. Several times, the Western and Central Railways have run drives to catch ticketless passengers. As a result, the number of ticketless travellers is now decreasing.

Citizen Reaction to Her Single-Day Achievement

In an outstanding achievement by the women ticket Inspector (TTI), one of the users of X mentioned her on his post by saying” Rubina Akib Inamdar, a Travelling Ticket Inspector (TTI) from the Tejaswini 2 batch, Mumbai Division, has set a new record for single-day ticket checking performance. Her dedication and efficiency in ensuring ticket compliance have made this a truly rockstar performance. The railway authorities have recognized and appreciated her exceptional efforts in maintaining discipline and revenue integrity on Mumbai’s busy train routes”.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is set to exclude 50 lakh women from the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana’ as part of a cost-cutting measure to ease the financial burden on the state treasury. Introduced before the Assembly elections, the scheme promised Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women, but mounting expenses have forced the Mahayuti government to tighten eligibility criteria.

Both Dy CMs Batting For Scheme Since Its Introduction

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar praised the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana’ after its introduction and after the Mahayuti alliance’s victory in the recent Assembly Elections.

Shinde called it a ‘transformative step towards women’s financial independence,’ while Pawar stressed its potential to uplift economically weaker sections. After the Assembly elections, both leaders hailed the scheme’s success, attributing it to the government’s commitment to social welfare and women’s empowerment.

The scheme initially had 2.46 crore beneficiaries, leading to a hefty monthly expenditure of around Rs 3,700 crore. Over the past six months, the initiative has cost the state approximately Rs 21,600 crore, impacting the funding of other crucial government programs.

Maha Govt Tightens Grip On Ineligible Beneficiaries

To address this, the government has begun scrutinizing beneficiaries’ financial status with the help of the Income Tax Department. So far, nearly 9 lakh women have been removed from the scheme and the target is to disqualify a total of 50 lakh ineligible beneficiaries, reported Saamana. This move is expected to save the state Rs 1,620 crore annually.

In January, the government’s stricter checks reduced the beneficiary count by 5 lakh, saving about Rs 75 crore. In February, another 4 lakh women were excluded, adding Rs 60 crore to the savings. The primary focus is on beneficiaries with yellow and orange ration cards and those under the Namo Shetkari Samman Nidhi.

e-KYC Introduced To Ensure Deserving Applicants Get Benefits

To facilitate the screening process, the government has mandated e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) verification, ensuring that only genuinely deserving candidates continue to receive benefits under the scheme.

While this move might stabilise state finances, it has sparked concerns among affected women and raised questions about the scheme’s political implications as elections approach.