Maharashtra
Navi Mumbai: Houses Under PM Awas Yojana Built On Mangrove Zones, Greens Complain To PM Modi
The houses built by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Navi Mumbai have violated the environmental conditions and mangrove buffer zones, Green groups have complained to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PMAY projects, particularly in Mansarovar and Kharghar, areas have come up in proximity of mangroves, mudflats and inter-tidal wetlands, the complaint filed by NatConnect Foundation on PMO Public Grievance website, said.
The status report on the website says the complaint has been referred to the Director in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Arvind Kumar Agrawal. NatConnect attached the recent Google Earth picture and actual ground photographs to fortify its case.
“The compound wall of the Kharghar project, on the northern side of the railway station, almost touches the mangroves with the distance between the sea plants and the project being 8 metres to 25 metres,” Director of the NatConnect Foundation, B N Kumar said and argued that this is in violation of both the central and state clearances given for the projects.
When contacted, a senior CIDCO official said, “We have not defied any CRZ norms since we received environmental clearance for the project on July 8, 2020. It is on the basis of transit-oriented development (TOD). The work on the project started in November, 2020 and was delayed a bit due to Covid-19 pandemic. The revised date of completion of the project is 2025.”
Providing details of the project, the official said the project is RERA registered having 17 towers with 2BHK flats consisting of RERA carpet area of 47.277 sq mtr. The beneficiaries of the apartments would be decided through a lottery system or as per the decision of the management.
The environmental clearance summary, issued by the MoEF&CC clearly stated that no mangroves should be affected during construction of the entire project and that the 50-meter buffer line has to be maintained. There is supposed to be thick vegetation of tall trees with foliage along the buffer line to mitigate any fugitive dust emission etc. towards the mangrove area.
The 143rd meeting of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) held on February 4, 2020 clearly noted that the projects were partly under CRZ1 and hence CIDCO was prohibited from doing any construction in the 50 mtr mangrove buffer zone and to maintain a 100 mtr CRZ setback for the creek. “However, the Kharghar project presents a worrying scene as the PMAY buildings have come up in the danger line,” Kumar said.
Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Hills and Wetland Forum said, “The compound wall will push the high tide line towards the Panvel creek and this is bound to cause flooding in other areas as water finds its own course and does not go by CIDCO walls.”
“What is even more shocking is that the urban planners in all their wisdom appear to be constructing housing colonies into the sea at a time when the rising sea levels has become a major global concern,” she added.
The environmental clearances have been given post the state mangrove cell visits and with conditions that the mangrove zones should not be impacted. The environmentalists, therefore, call for a thorough on-the-spot inquiry and taking measures to save the people and properties.
“Afterall, it is the tax-payers’ hard earned money that goes as subsidies into the PMAY project,” NatConnect said and offered to accompany the probe teams and point out the violations.
Maharashtra
Attention Mumbaikars! Central Railway To Operate Mega Block Between Thane And Kalyan On Sunday, Sept 14 For Essential Maintenance
Central Railway, Mumbai Division will operate Mega Block on its Main line suburban sections, on 5th and 6th line between Thane and Kalyan stations for carrying out various engineering and maintenance works on Sunday, 14.09.2025.
Block on 5th & 6th lines between Thane and Kalyan stations from 09.00 hrs to 13.00 hrs.
Following UP Mail/Express trains will be diverted on UP Fast line between Kalyan and Thane stations and will arrive destination 10 to 15 minutes late..
11010 Pune-CSMT Sinhagad Express
17611 Hazur Sahib Nanded-CSMT Rajyarani Express
12124 Pune-CSMT Deccan Queen
12134 Mangaluru Jn-CSMT Express
13201 Patna-LTT Express
17221 Kakinada-LTT Express
12126 Pune-CSMT Pragati Express
12140 Nagpur-CSMT Sevagram Express
22160 Chennai-CSMT Express
22226 Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express
12168 Banaras-LTT Express
12321 Howrah-CSMT Express
12812 Hatia-LTT Express
11014 Coimbatore-LTT Express
Following DOWN Mail/Express trains will be diverted on DOWN fast line between Thane and Kalyan and will be handed over 10 to 15 mins late.
11029 CSMT-Kolhapur Koyna Express
11055 LTT-Gorakhpur Godan Express
11061 LTT-Jaynagar Express
16345 LTT-Thiruvanathapuram Netravati Express
61003 Vasai Road-Diva MEMU departing Vasai Road at 09.50 hrs will be short terminated at Kopar
61004 Diva – Vasai Road MEMU will short originate from Kopar and will depart Kopar at at 11.45 hrs.
There will be no Mega Block on Harbour & Trans-Harbour line (except Traffic block on Kurla-Tilaknagar section)
These maintenance mega blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.
Maharashtra
Demand to cancel Bhiwandi Road footpath expansion project will only benefit builder lobby: Azmi alleges
Mumbai Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has demanded from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stop the demolition of religious places, houses and projects in the name of road and footpath expansion in Bhiwandi and protect religious places, temples, mosques and houses. Earlier, the government and MMRDA had spent an additional Rs 1700 crore on projects to protect the victims of the metro project. Abu Asim Azmi demanded from Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde that in the new development project of Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, a proposal has been made to widen the road by 6-6 meters from Rajiv Gandhi Chowk to Tim Ghar Marg, which is expected to make thousands of people homeless and unemployed, and temples and mosques will also be affected by this project, so this project should be canceled immediately. Azmi alleged that this project is causing a lot of hardship to the people and also endangering the existence of many religious places, so this project and plan should be stopped and a new plan should be prepared. Azmi said that this project and the expansion of roads and footpaths will only benefit the builder lobby, so the government should consider it so that the citizens of Bhiwandi get justice.
Thane: A 22-year-old woman allegedly harassed by her employer thrashed him at his store in Maharashtra’s Thane district, prompting the police to intervene in the matter, police said on Saturday.
The police are probing the incident that occurred in the Kalyan East area on Thursday evening, but no case has been registered, an official said.
In a video that surfaced on social media, the woman can be seen thrashing the 55-year-old shopkeeper with a slipper at his clothing store.
The woman has alleged that her employer harassed her by sending obscene text messages on her mobile phone.
According to eyewitnesses, the woman, accompanied by her mother, reached the shop on Thursday afternoon and confronted her employer about the obscene messages and continued harassment and demanded an apology.
A crowd gathered around the shop, and the woman assaulted him.
Attention Mumbaikars! Central Railway To Operate Mega Block Between Thane And Kalyan On Sunday, Sept 14 For Essential Maintenance
Demand to cancel Bhiwandi Road footpath expansion project will only benefit builder lobby: Azmi alleges
Thane: 22-Year-Old Woman Assaults Employer At His Store Over Harassment; Probe Underway
‘Aaditya Thackeray Will Watch India-Pakistan Match In Burqa’: Minister Nitish Rane’s Jibe Amid India-Pak Asia Cup Match Row
Mumbai Accident: Speeding Car Crashes Into Divider, Rams Into Shops In Ghatkopar, 3 Pavement Dwellers Seriously Injured; CCTV Footage Goes Viral
Mumbai: DRI Busts Syndicate Exporting Misdeclared Garments Via Dummy IECs; ₹115 Crore Benefits Fraudulently Claimed
Mumbai Metro: First Trial Of Green Line 4 & 4A Successful; Train Coaches Arrive At Anand Nagar In Thane
Mumbai At Standstill: Coastal Road, Eastern Freeway, CSMT Choked As Maratha Morcha Protestors Gridlock SoBo; Traffic Police & BEST Issue Advisories
War 2 Box Office Collection: Hrithik Roshan & Jr NTR Thank Fans As Movie Crosses ₹ 100 Crore Mark In 2 Days
Saba khan shoot for the promo for Salman Khan-hosted show
-
Crime3 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra11 months agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra11 months agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra12 months agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News11 months agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Crime11 months agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra10 months agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News12 months agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface