Richa PintoMumbai: BMC’s Tree Authority is set to deliberate on proposals involving 3,169 trees at its meeting on Tuesday, with permissions being sought to fell 1,777 trees and transplant 1,392 others for a series of infrastructure and redevelopment projects across Mumbai.The proposals include the Orange Gate-Marine Drive underground tunnel construction, the Dharavi redevelopment project, an IIT Bombay housing project in Powai and a slum rehabilitation scheme in Ghatkopar.The largest proposal before the authority pertains to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd has sought permission to remove 1,693 trees that would be affected by excavation for rehabilitation buildings on Sub Plot-B in Dharavi’s notified area. According to the proposal, officials found 2,006 trees at the site during inspections carried out in May this year, of which 1,693 trees would be impacted by the planned construction. The developer has sought permission to cut 871 trees, including seven that have already fallen, while 822 trees are proposed to be transplanted. The remaining trees will be retained.The proposal states that 24 of the trees proposed to be felled are between 50 and 85 years old, while 25 trees have been identified as “heritage” trees, of which 24 are proposed to be cut and one transplanted.As part of the proposal, the developer has committed to plant 22,904 compensatory trees within 15 days of the felling permission being granted. The new saplings will be at least 6 feet tall and of indigenous species. The compensatory plantation is proposed on 90 acres of land at Chahade village in Palghar district, for which the developer has submitted a no-objection certificate from the landowner.Nearly 8,000 trees are likely to be impacted across the entire Dharavi Redevelopment Project, for which around 30,000 additional trees will be planted within available open spaces in the project area. The developer has also undertaken to maintain the compensatory plantation for seven years.Another important proposal relates to the Orange Gate-Marine Drive underground road tunnel, which will connect the Eastern Freeway with the Coastal Road. Larsen & Toubro has sought approval to remove 66 trees affected by the revised Option-E alignment of the project in the Marine Drive precinct. Of these, three trees are proposed to be cut and 63 transplanted, while 18 trees located at the site will remain untouched. BMC officials carried out a joint site inspection in March and found 84 trees at the location, though only 66 fall within the project footprint.The authority will also consider a proposal from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay for construction of residential buildings in Powai. The institute has sought permission for 160 trees that are affected by the project. Of these, 49 trees are proposed to be felled and 111 transplanted, while 99 trees at the site will remain undisturbed. One tree was found to have fallen naturally during the site inspection.Another proposal concerns an SRA project in Ghatkopar (East) being undertaken by Ratan Builders for three cooperative housing societies. The developer has revised its plans after being directed by the BMC to explore ways to save more trees. The latest proposal seeks permission to cut 18 trees and transplant 15, while 11 trees will be retained. Officials said an earlier proposal sought permission to remove a larger number of trees, but the developer was asked to modify the layout to minimise tree loss.The proposals come amid increasing scrutiny over tree felling linked to large infrastructure projects in Mumbai. The Tree Authority, constituted under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, is required to examine whether tree removal is unavoidable and whether adequate efforts have been made to retain or transplant trees before granting permission.

Mumbai: The CET Cell has filed a complaint with the state’s Cyber Cell and the Azad Maidan police station after a video and an audio clip alleging discrepancies in the provisional merit list for engineering admissions, along with claims of manipulation of exam centres in return for money, surfaced on social media and were widely circulated among students. The cell has asked the police not only to identify the source of the clips and the persons involved in creating, uploading and circulating them but also to verify the claims made in them. No FIR has been registered in the matter yet. About 2.4 lakh students registered for the centralised admission process (CAP) for engineering.A person in the video alleged that students who scored higher marks (100th percentile) in the MHT-CET physics-chemistry-mathematics (PCM) exam scored poorly in the state board exams. The audio clip showed that a woman allegedly offered to manipulate the CET exam centre and help students secure the 99th percentile in the CET in return for money.Clarifying that the mismatch between HSC and CET scores is not an anomaly but occurs across score bands and entrance examinations, CET Cell Commissioner Dileep Sardesai said that 202 students who scored between the 98th and 100th percentile in the MHT-CET secured 40%-50% in the PCM subjects in the HSC board examinations. He added that the reverse was also true, with 50 students scoring above 90% in the HSC board examinations but below the 30th percentile in the MHT-CET.Sharing data across different score bands, he said that 69 students who scored between the 40th and 50th percentile in the MHT-CET secured between the 90th and 100th percentile in JEE (Main) as well and that there was no pattern in the same. Sardesai said that the format of the board and the entrance examinations are different and such mismatches in scores occur across entrance examinations. The CET Cell authorities will analyse the data further and see the background of the 202 students and the exam centres from where they appeared.About the allegation of manipulation in the allotment of centres, Sardesai said that these are centrally allotted by the CET Cell and in an automated manner. He said that this year the CET Cell has also limited the use of exam centres to computer laboratories in govt and private engineering colleges.Of the total 25 sessions conducted for the PCM exams, it was found that GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Pune, had 222 students who scored above the 99th percentile in the exam, followed by Thakur College, Kandivali, with 133 students, and GH Raisoni Technical Institute (120), Govt Engineering College (108) and Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College (99). These centres also had more students appearing for the exam, said the CET Cell authorities, adding that these will be analysed further too.

Mumbai: The police have arrested a 36-year-old estate agent for duping a woman cancer patient of Rs 40 lakh by luring her with the promise of a Mhada flat under the reserved category.The police said the flat was never handed over to the woman and a Rs 15 lakh partial refund cheque issued by the accused also bounced.The police identified the arrested man as Anil Mane, proprietor of Om Sai Enterprises. The case was registered at the Dadar police station on July 16 on the complaint of a cancer patient.She said she was looking to buy a flat in the Dadar-Parel belt when she was introduced to Mane through a common acquaintance who claimed the accused could arrange for Mhada and mill workers’ flats in Mumbai in July 2021. Mane allegedly showed her a flat in the Srinivas Mill Complex at Lower Parel and offered to facilitate its purchase for Rs 38 lakh.Believing his assurances, the complainant transferred Rs 10 lakh to Om Sai Enterprises through NEFT as a booking amount and later paid additional sums in cash and through bank transactions. The police said Mane executed an agreement acknowledging receipt of the booking amount and assured the complainant that the flat would be transferred to her name.When the promised flat did not materialise, Mane allegedly told the complainant that the government had imposed a stay on the property and asked her to wait. Later, he allegedly offered another flat in the Bombay Dyeing Spring Mill redevelopment project and persuaded her to transfer another Rs 9.5 lakh, claiming it was required for Mhada formalities.The complainant, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2025 and is undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital, alleged that despite paying a total of Rs 39.46 lakh, she neither received possession of any flat nor got her money back.The police said Mane later executed a promissory note acknowledging receipt of the money and issued a cheque for Rs 15 lakh, which was dishonoured upon presentation. The complainant alleged that when she repeatedly demanded repayment, the accused abused and threatened her with dire consequences.During the investigation, the police found that the accused had allegedly vacated his Ghodapdeo residence in March this year and had been evading arrest. The police recently traced him after he contacted the complainant from a new mobile number. Technical surveillance, including analysis of call detail records and location data, led police to Bhavani Shankar Road in Dadar, where he was apprehended on Sunday.

Questioning corporator Ramesh Mhatre’s action, the Acting CJ said, ‘They are your voters’

Mumbai: Not satisfied with the probe against Sena’s KDMC corporator Ramesh Mhatre and three others accused of assaulting doctors of a civic hospital earlier this month, Bombay HC on Monday directed that the investigation be handed over to the zonal DCP.Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) RV Ghuge said police accorded the neta “a rare type of respect” by trying to facilitate his production before a magistrate via video conference (VC) after his arrest. He noted that Mhatre was arrested 48 hours after the alleged assault.“Why do you (Mhatre) behave like this? Why beat the public? They are your voters. Surprising that a person who goes to voters and says ‘vote for me, I want to serve you’…after winning, starts beating people,” the ACJ said while hearing a plea filed by the corporator and others seeking bail on any stringent condition HC deemed fit. “Even in public life, you are for the public, are here for the public.”The state told HC that the probe was earlier handed over from a police inspector to a senior police inspector and will now be entrusted to the Kalyan DCP (zone 3) in two days.Advocate general Milind Sathe said as per public prosecutor Shishir Hirey’s submission at the hearing last week, police had “erred on the side of caution” since Mhatre’s blood pressure had shot up to 160 and had requested his production via VC to avoid any incident and any other controversy later. The magistrate had declined this request, following which Mhatre (73) was produced physically and remanded in three days of police custody, said Sathe. HC praised the magistrate.The ACJ noted that after being granted bail later, Mhatre had walked out “as if nothing had happened”. “There was a grand reception… So many supporters. This is what someone had argued that day. This means it was a pretence. Is this why you become a people’s representative?’’ he said. “This is very strange and counterproductive,’’ said the bench, which included Justice Gautam Ankhad.Mhatre’s senior counsel Aabad Ponda sought his release, saying a “hard lesson has been learnt”. He cited his age and health and said Mhatre may even be kept out of Maharashtra’s jurisdiction till the probe is complete and the chargesheet filed. He said after HC suo motu set aside the bail order, Mhatre immediately surrendered.Advocate Sanaa Raees Khan, for the other three co-accused, asked that they too be released as CCTV footage had already been seized. The bench said the footage showed that their actions were more “violent”. “Go watch the footage and come back on Wednesday,’’ said the ACJ.Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi, as amicus curiae (appointed by HC to assist it), agreed with Ponda that “bail is the rule and jail an exception” but said the investigation needs to be first completed and the chargesheet filed as the victims had in the FIR alleged being threatened with repercussions. He said the court may direct the probe to be expedited and completed before the mandated 60 or 90 days.HC directed that protection be given to the complainant doctor for his statement to be recorded in Washim, where he has been staying since the assault.HC posted the matter for Friday to enable victims to file affidavits by then, but said adjournment cannot be given freely as in a ‘civil case’. “The court must be fair to him (Mhatre) too,’’ the ACJ said.So far, three nurses and two doctors, the chief medical officer and the chief health officer of KDMC have recorded their statements, the public prosecutor said. Ten more witnesses are yet to do so. HC sought a probe update on Friday.Doctors and staff of the Dombivli hospital were attacked after a pregnant patient’s relatives alleged delay in her treatment on July 6. An FIR was lodged the next based on a doctor’s complaint. Asked by HC, the public prosecutor said KDMC did not file a complaint. Mhatre was arrested on July 8 and got bail from a magistrate on July 15. HC stayed that order on July 18 and he surrendered the next day.