Mumbai: BMC has initiated legal action against a housing society for allegedly violating tree conservation regulations by poisoning trees and another for carrying out pruning beyond the limits permitted by the civic body.According to the civic body, non-cognisable offence cases have been registered at the respective police stations against the office-bearers of DGS Shital Tapovan Housing Society near Dindoshi Metro station in Malad East for poisoning trees and Kalpataru Aura Housing Society in Ghatkopar West for pruning beyond the prescribed limit.In the first case, the civic body said it received an online complaint alleging that two roadside trees outside DGS Shital Tapovan Housing Society had been deliberately damaged by administering poisonous injections. Following the complaint, officials from the garden department conducted a joint site inspection with the complainant. During the inspection, officials found around 20 holes drilled near the base of the trunk of a peltophorum tree located along the road outside the society’s entrance gate. Based on the preliminary findings, BMC lodged a complaint against the office-bearers of the housing society and the developer. Subsequently, Kurar police registered a non-cognisable offence under Section 8 read with Section 21 of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975.In the second case, BMC received a complaint, which alleged that more than 100 trees within the premises of Kalpataru Aura Housing Society in Ghatkopar West had been pruned beyond the limit permitted under the civic body’s approval. A site inspection by officials of N Ward confirmed that although permission had been granted for tree pruning subject to specified conditions, the pruning carried out exceeded the approved limits. Following the inspection, BMC registered a case against the housing society at Parksite police station.The civic body reiterated that prior permission is mandatory before cutting, damaging or pruning any tree and that all conditions attached to such permissions must be strictly followed. Violations attract penal and criminal action under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975.BMC additional commissioner Avinash Dhakhne has stated that causing damage to any tree, administering poisonous substances or injections, cutting trees or destroying them are punishable offences under the law. Dhakhne also appealed to citizens to immediately report incidents involving damage to trees, including poisoning, illegal cutting or destruction, and to cooperate with the civic body in protecting the city’s environment.

Mumbai: A delayed result and an unusually high failure rate have triggered concern among students enrolled in Mumbai University’s distance education programmes, with Yuva Sena representatives demanding an urgent review of the assessment process and the academic calendar.The first-semester results for the first-year BCom programme were declared after four months, instead of 45 days. Of the 2,543 students, only 457 passed, while 2,086 were declared unsuccessful. The situation was similar in the first-year Arts programme, where 460 of 2,224 students cleared the examination and 1,764 failed.Yuva Sena senate member Pradeep Sawant met university registrar Prasad Karande. He sought clarity on the second-semester results, ATKT examinations and admissions to the next academic year. Sawant warned that further delays could disrupt the academic calendar and affect thousands of working students who depend on distance education to continue their studies.Students have also complained of delayed study material, last-minute notices, inadequate communication from university officials and possible shortcomings in answer-sheet evaluation.The representatives pointed to the sharp decline in enrolment in the university’s distance education division. The department reportedly had nearly 80,000 students in 2022, compared with about 20,000 now.The University of Mumbai clarified that 1,764 of 2,224 BA students and 2,086 of 2,543 BCom students were marked unsuccessful in Semester I, but many had failed in only one or two subjects. Since each course includes multiple internal and external assessments, failure in any subject places a student in the unsuccessful category. The BA pass rate was 20.68%, compared with 23.35% last year, while BCom improved from 13% to 18%. Students will not lose an academic year, as they may enter Semester II and clear failed subjects later. ATKT exams begin on Aug 25.

Aaditya Thackeray (L) questioned the timing of Mohan Bhagwat’s (R) planned interaction with young people

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday questioned the timing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s planned interaction with Gen Z.Thackeray, in a post on X, indirectly asked where those now seeking to engage with young people were when student protesters faced police action.Bhagwat is scheduled to interact with Gen Z in Mumbai on August 6 at an event organised by the International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN), according to the organisation.Reacting to the announcement, Thackeray raised questions over the response of those seeking to engage with Gen Z and Gen Alpha following the recent student protests.“Suddenly everyone who wants to interact with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and some who have taken it on themselves to preach ‘culture’ to them via social media, the simple question to all of them is… Where were you when they were facing AK-47s, lathis with rusted nails, electric shock guns and electric barricades, tear gas, and when women were manhandled in the name of ‘law and order’?” Thackeray posted on X.

‘Why didn’t you step in then?’

The former Maharashtra minister also questioned why such voices did not intervene when protesters were allegedly detained and arrested.“Where were you when they were detained at home while leaving for peaceful protests, or when they were arrested? Why didn’t you step in then?” he said.Thackeray’s remarks came after IIMUN announced that RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat would address a gathering of young people in Mumbai on August 6.According to the organisation, around 2,000 students aged 15 to 19 from more than 100 cities are expected to attend the gathering at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai.The event will coincide with the 15th anniversary ofIIMUN and the inaugural ceremony of its Annual Championship Conference.

Bhagwat to address youth gathering

IIMUN founder Rishabh Shah said the organisation had invited Bhagwat to speak to the students as part of its effort to encourage dialogue on democracy, leadership and nation-building.“Leadership is not only about guiding the next generation, but also listening to it,” Shah said, according to the press release.Bhagwat’s address will mark the beginning of the organisation’s annual conference, where students will debate and deliberate on local, national and international issues.The conference will bring together students from schools and colleges across India, with this year’s theme being “The Role of Youth in Uniting the World, the Indian Way.”Thackeray, meanwhile, framed Bhagwat’s proposed interaction against the backdrop of the treatment of young protesters, asking those now seeking to speak to Gen Z to account for their response when the demonstrations were underway.

The plan follows the allotment of Toyota Innova Hycross hybrid vehicles to mayor Ritu Tawde (right) and additional municipal commissioners. Currently, the BMC chief Ashwini Bhide uses an EV (left).

MUMBAI: Six new Toyota Innova Crysta vehicles, a fleet of old Mahindra Scorpio-N SUVs and a BJP leader who says he regularly travels by train have come together in the latest car controversy involving Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).The civic administration has proposed spending around Rs 1.5 crore to replace the Scorpio-N SUVs used by key elected office-bearers with six new Innova Crystas. The vehicles are proposed for the deputy mayor, leader of the house, leader of the opposition, and chairpersons of the standing, improvements and education committees.The BMC said political office-bearers had sought more comfortable vehicles for long commutes across Mumbai and official site inspections. The proposal follows the allotment of Toyota Innova Hycross Hybrid vehicles to mayor Ritu Tawde and additional municipal commissioners.However, the proposal has triggered questions over who actually demanded the upgrade. Opposition party leader in the BMC Kishori Pednekar said she had not asked for a new vehicle.“I was given a Scorpio vehicle since I was appointed leader of the opposition earlier this year. These are new cars and there’s no need to change the same,” she said.Mayor Ritu Tawde, however, said some committee chairpersons travel from far-off suburbs such as Dahisar, Kandivali and Borivali and need greater comfort. “There is no separate tender being called for the vehicles and instead, the chairpersons have only asked for another kind of vehicle instead of what has been provided to them,” she said.Tawde also claimed Pednekar had earlier agreed to the change of vehicle but had now changed her stance.BJP leader Ganesh Khankar, meanwhile, said the BMC should scrap the practice of providing different categories of cars to political leaders and civic officials. “The same type of vehicle should be provided to everyone, whether elected representatives or civic officials,” he said.Khankar added that he had never demanded a particular car and regularly travels by train.The BMC has said the vehicle replacement system is followed once a car completes its prescribed age. An official said the Scorpios replaced by the new Innovas could be given to ward-level officials currently using older vehicles.Khankar said the vehicles are hired on contract and the BMC pays a monthly rental, adding, “Therefore, there is no question of the civic body making a permanent capital expenditure on these vehicles.”The proposal had drawn criticism from opposition parties and also led to protests by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which purchased Toyota Innova models and announced that they would be couriered to BMC office-bearers and the civic administration.Amid the widespread criticism, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said public money should be spent only on development works and civic amenities, and directed the BMC to stop wasteful expenditure and focus on the needs of citizens.

The National Company Law Tribunal has cleared the sale of aircraft registered as VT-JES ($16 million), VT-JEV ($12.5 million) and VT-JEM ($17.5 million). (File Photo)

MUMBAI: The first of three Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ERs that had been sitting idle at Mumbai airport since 2019 departed on Monday, more than seven years after the airline grounded its fleet.The tail fins of the grounded Jet Airways aircraft have long been a familiar, faintly melancholic sight, visible to passengers landing and taking off at Mumbai airport, as well as from outside the airport’s boundary wall in Kalina, where the jets remained parked in full view of a city that once flew them.The aircraft, now re-registered as 2-TJEM on Guernsey’s aircraft register after previously flying as VT-JEM under Jet Airways, is headed to Tel Aviv for conversion into a freighter. It was expected to take off at around 6.40 pm, according to a source.The Boeing 777 is among three wide-body aircraft being sold to Malta-based Ace Aviation, a subsidiary of Israel’s Challenge Group, which operates cargo airlines, for a combined $46 million (Rs 418 crore), as part of Jet Airways’ ongoing liquidation process, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange filing.The National Company Law Tribunal has cleared the sale of aircraft registered as VT-JES ($16 million), VT-JEV ($12.5 million) and VT-JEM ($17.5 million).The transaction was delayed for more than three years due to legal disputes over unpaid airport charges. Ace Aviation first bid for the aircraft in 2022 and paid a $5.6 million deposit under a signed letter of intent, but the deal stalled amid objections from Mumbai International Airport Ltd, owned by the Adani Group, which claims parking fees and other dues dating back to 2018 that have since risen to around Rs 1,000 crore.“The aircraft, along with others, was at one point attached by the Collector, Mumbai Suburban, over gratuity dues claimed by the All India Jet Airways Staff and Officers Association,” said a former top Jet Airways official.