National News
PM to launch projects over Rs 2 lakh crore in Vizag today

Visakhapatnam, Jan 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay foundations for projects worth over Rs 2 lakh crore here on Wednesday evening.
The Prime Minister, who will be arriving on his first visit to Andhra Pradesh after the TDP-led NDA formed the government in the state, will conduct a roadshow and address a public meeting, where he will virtually launch several major projects aimed at driving sustainable growth and infrastructure development, with a particular focus on North Andhra Pradesh.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan will accompany the Prime Minister during the roadshow and for the public meeting.
After arrival at INS Dega at 4.15 p.m., the Prime Minister will conduct the roadshow from Siripuram Cross Roads to AU Engineering College, the venue of the public meeting.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu, Union Minister of State Bhupati Raju Srinivasa Varma, few state ministers, BJP MP and state party president Purandeswari will share the dais with the Prime Minister.
This will be Narendra Modi’s second visit to Andhra Pradesh after assuming office as the Prime Minister for the third term.
In June last year, he had attended the swearing-in of Chandrababu Naidu and his ministers in Vijayawada.
The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Visakhapatnam on November 29 but the programme was postponed due to a cyclone alert.
The state government has made elaborate arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit.
The TDP and its allies Jana Sena and BJP are mobilising people from various parts of North Andhra for the roadshow and public meeting.
Authorities expect 80,000 people to take part in the roadshow, while nearly 2 lakh people are likely to attend the public meeting.
The roadshow will commence at 4:45 p.m. from the Venkatadri Vantillu restaurant area in Siripuram.
The public meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. He will leave the venue at 6:50 p.m. and return to the air station around 7:15 p.m. to leave for Bhubaneswar.
PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for the South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) headquarters in Visakhapatnam. This will meet the long-pending demand of the state under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
He will also lay the foundation stone for the NTPC Green Energy Limited’s (NGEL) Green Hydrogen Hub at Pudimadaka in Atchutapuram mandal of Anakapalle district.
To be developed under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, this mega project involves an investment of Rs 1.85 lakh crore and 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to produce 1,500 tonnes per day of green hydrogen.
The project will also produce 7,500 tonnes of green hydrogen derivatives, including green methanol, green urea, and sustainable aviation fuel, primarily targeting export markets.
The Prime Minister will also launch a series of road and railway projects in Andhra Pradesh, collectively valued at Rs 19,500 crore.
He will also lay the foundation stone for a bulk drug park at Nakkapalli in Anakapalle district.
With an investment of Rs 1,438.89 crore, the park is strategically located near the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and the Visakhapatnam- Kakinada Petrochemical and Investment Region, promising thousands of jobs and enhanced industrial activity in the region.
The foundation stone will also be for the Krishnapatnam Industrial Area (KRIS City) in Tirupati district under the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
The project is expected to attract investments of Rs 10,500 crore and create nearly one lakh direct and indirect jobs.
National News
Maharashtra: Major scam in twin tunnel and elevated road projects, allege Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress

Mumbai, May 31: The opposition Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress in Maharashtra have claimed that there is a major scam in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects estimated together at Rs 14,000 crore.
“Will Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde be removed from the government and an investigation conducted into this scam?” SS-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said at a press conference while criticising the state government after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told the Supreme Court during a hearing on a petition filed by the infrastructure major L&T that both the tenders would be scrapped, and a fresh tender process would be initiated only to safeguard larger public interest.
“I congratulate the court… I also congratulate the contractor L&T. No political interference is needed. I had brought this news to the fore last year also,” Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.
“The cost of the twin projects was expected to be Rs 14,000 crore and, on the other hand, the contract process was to be completed in 20 days. There is a short tender notice for landslides, broken walls. But how can there be a short notice for this big project? When they (L&T) went to court, MMRDA said that they are giving a contract period of 60 days instead of 20 days,” he claimed.
“It all started for a favourite contractor. At that time, I didn’t think it would be such a big scam. There was a settlement against the government for a contract. But today’s (court) case has given me confidence that ‘Satyamev Jayate’ will prevail. It was clear that this was a scam. Just because the contract was canceled later on the orders of the court doesn’t mean it wasn’t a scam.
“The ED and IT-D are being pushed aside. I ask the Chief Minister – are you going to investigate the ‘corrupt Nath’ Shinde? He must have taken bribes, given threats. Fadnavis says we need clean governance. Shinde holds the urban development department… he gives orders to commit scams. Will you investigate him? Are you going to expel him?” Aaditya Thackeray questioned.
He claimed that Fadnavis does not need Shinde as Ajit Pawar is with him. “So will the probe be conducted by keeping aside Shinde?” he wondered.
On the other hand, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that there was corruption of Rs 3,000 crore in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects. He also accused CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde of taking bribes in these projects.
“The matter does not end with the cancellation of the tender by MMRDA as the issue is about corruption. Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have created a corridor of corruption in the state and there is a circle of state undertakings including MMRDA, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority), CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) for this purpose. This circle of corruption has been quite active since Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister. For this, favourite officers are appointed and through this, the favourite contractor scheme is implemented,” alleged Sapkal.
National News
Re-tendering of Ghodbunder-Bhayandar projects: Voluntary move despite legal clearance, says MMRDA

Mumbai, May 31: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Saturday strongly defended its decision to scrap tenders for the Thane-Ghodbunder-Bhayandar twin tunnel and elevated road projects, valued at around Rs 14,000 crore.
The authority emphasized that the move was voluntary and aimed at upholding transparency, despite having received legal vindication from the courts.
In a submission before the Supreme Court on Friday, MMRDA said that it would scrap both tenders and initiate a fresh bidding process in alignment with its institutional commitment to transparency and to safeguard the larger public interest.
“The decision to re-tender the Ghodbunder-Bhayandar infrastructure projects underscores MMRDA’s commitment to public value, ethical governance, and transparency,” the authority said in a statement.
“This voluntary step comes despite the Supreme Court declining to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, which had upheld the legality and procedural soundness of the tender process for the Gaimukh-Bhayandar project,” it added.
MMRDA also said it was actively considering a downward revision of the project’s base cost by around Rs 3,000 crore, based on price quotations revealed during court proceedings, to ensure optimal utilization of public funds.
Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) had twice challenged the tendering process in the Bombay High Court, which on both occasions upheld MMRDA’s procedures, affirming that all rules, technical criteria, and eligibility norms had been followed.
In its Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court, L&T had sought both interim and final reliefs, including a stay on the High Court’s order, a freeze on the opening of financial bids, a bar on disclosure of submitted bids, and a halt on issuing any Letter of Award.
However, the apex court declined to grant any of these interim requests.
“The Court did not stay the High Court’s order, nor did it restrain MMRDA from opening financial bids, disclosing them, or issuing Letters of Award,” the MMRDA statement said.
“During final hearings, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai expressly refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, thus reinforcing the legality of MMRDA’s tendering process.”
According to MMRDA, L&T was disqualified for failing to meet a key eligibility condition that required bidders to declare that no bridge or barrage constructed by them had collapsed within two years of completion.
Based on L&T’s own disclosure, the company was rendered ineligible, and its financial bid was never opened.
“MMRDA’s approach in this matter goes beyond a legal win. It reflects leadership — where legal compliance is a baseline, and ethical decision-making in public interest is the standard,” the statement said.
Crime
Delhi Police bust interstate auto theft syndicate, recover eight high end cars

New Delhi, May 30: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted an interstate syndicate involved in the theft and resale of high-end vehicles, a statement said on Friday.
The gang used a sophisticated modus operandi to sell stolen cars through online platforms by forging documents, opening bank accounts with fake identities, and tampering with engine and chassis numbers.
In a series of coordinated operations, the police arrested a key member of the gang and recovered eight luxury vehicles.
According to Delhi Police, the breakthrough came with the arrest of Rakesh Patel alias Pappu (38), a core operative of the syndicate, near Sahibabad Railway Station in Ghaziabad on April 21, 2025.
Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him while he was attempting to sell a stolen Maruti Wagon-R via an online platform.
Patel, a resident of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (UP), and originally from Mohiuddin Nagar, Samastipur (Bihar), played a central role in managing theft operations and delivering stolen vehicles across states.
His associates arranged vehicles, counterfeit documents, and fake number plates.
The gang’s method was notably elaborate. After stealing a car, they searched online car-selling portals for vehicles of the same make, model, and colour.
Using open-source information, they identified details of genuine owners and forged documents in the owner’s name — featuring the photograph of one of the accused. They also opened bank accounts using these fake identities.
To avoid detection, the syndicate would tamper with the stolen car’s engine and chassis numbers to match those of the legitimate vehicle. Fake Registration Certificates (RCs) were then prepared, making the stolen car appear genuine. Once the vehicle was thus ‘cloned,’ it was listed for sale on online platforms.
The syndicate targeted high-demand vehicles, often choosing cars parked in low-surveillance or roadside areas. The police noted the gang’s use of advanced technological tools to support their operations.
A team led by Inspector Arun Sindhu of the Crime Branch spearheaded the investigation, which led to the arrest and recovery of the stolen vehicles.
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