George MendoncaNavi Mumbai: Subhash Balkhande (42), the father of college student Shubhangi (16), who along with her college friend Ujwala Wagh (18) suffered severe shocks from an underground exposed live electrical wire while wading through a waterlogged stretch near Nerul flyover on Wednesday, has said that he will lodge a complaint at Nerul police station against the NMMC contractor who had laid the underground cable and did not ensure its maintenance. The contractor’s act of negligence thatcould have been fatal for his daughter and her friend, he said.Balkhande, who drives his taxi, said, “As I was busy attending to my daughter Shubhangi in the ICU at Fortis hospital in Vashi, Iwas unable to lodge a police complaint earlier. Also, my livelihood is from driving my cab, so I have to step out daily for work. My daughter is now stable and is likely to be shifted to the general ward in the next two or three days. After that, I will pursue the matter and seek legal action by lodging a police complaint against the NMMC contractor and demand registration of an FIR.”He added that though NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde has suspended the executive engineer (electrical) Pravin Gade for dereliction of duty, “the actual culprit is the contractor, who neglected the maintenance of the underground electrical cable, resulting in the breaking of the cable and exposure of live electric wire, causing the mishap.”On Friday, NMMC corporator Kishor Parkar of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, who is also Sena Navi Mumbai district president and Sena activist Aniket Mhatre on behalf of Dy CM Shinde extended financial help of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of both the teens. The autorickshaw driver Pravin Mahale who rushed the girls to DY Patil hospital, Nerul, was felicitated and given Rsone lakh as a token of appreciation for his prompt action.

Raising the issue, Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjarri said contractors executing work for departments such as the Public Works Department (PWD) and other departments are facing severe financial distress due to delayed payments. He said that contractors had recently threatened to stop work over unpaid bills.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Legislative Council witnessed heated discussions on Friday over mounting payment delays to contractors, with opposition members demanding a white paper on pending dues that are estimated to run into thousands of crores of rupees. The govt has assured the legislators that the payments are being given to contractors through a transparent process.Raising the issue, Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjarri said contractors executing work for departments such as the Public Works Department (PWD) and other departments are facing severe financial distress due to delayed payments. He said that contractors recently threatened to stop work over unpaid bills.While Wanjarri said that contractors’ organisations have claimed that pending dues amount to nearly Rs 96,000 crore, the PWD minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale stated that arrears stood at around Rs 17,562 crore.“On one hand, we speak of ease of doing business, but on the other hand govt contractors are struggling to get legitimate dues,” Wanjarri said. Calling for greater transparency, the MLC proposed the creation of a contractor payment transparency portal where pending bills and phased disbursements could be tracked in real time.He expressed concern over reports of extreme distress among contractors and questioned whether the crisis could lead to further tragedies. He also sought details of action taken against officials allegedly caught accepting bribes from contractors, asking how many weresuspended or penalised. The minister said that the system of disbursing money to the contractors was an online and transparent process and there was no scope for corruption.

A heritage II-A structure at Colaba, the proposal was to restore the external facade of Majestic MLA hostel, while restructuring the interiors

Mumbai: State legislative council chairman Ram Shinde has issued a show-cause notice to Tricon Construction, the contractor for the repair and refurbishment of the Majestic MLA hostel. The show-cause notice was issued early this week.A heritage II-A structure at Colaba, the proposal was to restore the external facade of Majestic hostel, while restructuring the interiors. The hostel comprising 68 rooms and two presidential suites was to be completed by September. Each room will be approximately 450 sq ft.Shinde, who is overseeing the project, said, “The work will now be completed only in 2027. The work has been delayed.”In 2018, when the proposal for the hostel repair and refurbishment was finalised, the cost was estimated at Rs 70 crore, which has now escalated to Rs 118 crore.The original building, Majestic Hotel, was designed by architect W A Chambers, and was inaugurated in 1909. In the 60s, when the state assembly worked out of what is now the state police headquarters, the hotel was converted into a hostel for MLAs as it was close to the then assembly. In the 80s, when the Vidhan Bhavan at Nariman Point was commissioned, the assembly moved but the hostel continued to be operational.

Ketamine hydrochloride is a dissociative general anesthetic primarily used in medical and veterinary settings to induce loss of consciousness and relieve pain.

Mumbai: The sales and marketing manager of Supriya Lifescience Ltd, a listed pharma company, and a customs broker were arrested by the Customs for allegedly attempting to export 200 kg of Ketamine Hydrochloride to South Korea using an expired Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) export authorisation.Ketamine hydrochloride is a dissociative general anesthetic primarily used in medical and veterinary settings to induce loss of consciousness and relieve pain. It is a controlled “psychotropic substance” under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 in India. The Government of India added it to the NDPS schedule to curb its illicit diversion and recreationalA unit of the Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) Export at Airport arrested Sreekant Sreedhan, the authorised representative of Supriya Lifescience and the proprietor of the CB Firm Uday Anant Tayshete. On specific intelligence, the officials detained the consignment which was to be exported to Republic of Korea.During examination, the consignment was found to contain 8 drums of ketamine hydrochloride USPNF weighing 217.5 kgs, which is prohibited without valid NOC from the Narcotic Commssioner of CBN as per rule NDPS act.“When the company was asked to produce the document, they produced an expired no-objection certificate, which is mandatory but had expired on May 31. They allegedly failed to verify the authorisation before filing the shipping bill. Both have been booked under various provisions of the NDPS Act.’’ said an official. The officials then recorded the statement of M/S Worldlink Airfreight Logistics proprietor Uday Tayshete, who failed to exercise due diligence regarding export control laws. Officials placed Tayshete under arrest.The seized consignment has been confiscated under the NDPS Act and the Customs Act. Both accused were arrested and booked under Sections 8 read with 22(c), 23(c), 28, 29 and 37 of the NDPS Act for attempting to illegally export a psychotropic substance.

File pic for representation.

Vasai: Maharashtra government has ordered an inquiry into the drain desilting works carried out in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) area, directing officials to submit a report within eight days.The announcement was made in the state legislative assembly on Thursday, after concerns were raised over widespread flooding and alleged irregularities in pre-monsoon desilting works.The issue was raised through a calling attention motion by Vasai MLA Sneha Dubey-Pandit, who alleged that the flooding witnessed across several parts of the city following two days of heavy rain was not merely the result of intense rainfall, but also due to administrative failure and alleged corruption in drain desilting works.Dubey-Pandit questioned the effectiveness of VVMC’s flood mitigation measures, including road elevation projects, installation of flood gates and other infrastructure works, claiming that despite official assertions that these projects had been completed, several areas continued to remain inundated.She also alleged that the city is yet to prepare a comprehensive underground sewerage network and storm water drainage master plan. Referring to recommendations made by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), she claimed that the report had not been implemented and that the process of obtaining permission from the Bombay High Court for mangrove relocation to restore natural water channels had also not been initiated.The MLA demanded that the probe should not be restricted to desilting works alone, but should also examine the tendering process, cost estimates, administrative approvals, payments made to contractors and the role of officials involved in executing the works.Responding to the discussion, minister of state for urban development Madhuri Misal said the government had directed that the desilting works be investigated and a report submitted within eight days. She also announced that a full-time city engineer would be appointed in VVMC within 15 days.

Navi Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay submitted its draft technical review of the proposed Sanpada underpass project along the scenic Palm Beach Road to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), recommending a redesigned layout to preserve as many roadside trees as possible while meeting traffic improvement objectives. The draft report came after months of public opposition to the proposed felling and transplantation of hundreds of trees. Resident groups, led by Palm Beach Greens and NatConnect Foundation, organised silent human chains, urging the civic body to redesign the project rather than sacrifice Navi Mumbai’s green cover, prompting NMMC to seek IIT’s support. Responding to the public campaign, NMMC Commissioner Kailas Shinde earlier assured citizens that every effort would be made to minimise tree loss and commissioned an independent technical review by IIT Bombay.IIT Bombay concluded that the project’s traffic objectives could be achieved through a revised roundabout and access arrangement that reduced the footprint within the green belt and limited disruption to mature trees. A civic official said the final number of trees that may have to be felled or transplanted would be known only after NMMC prepared a revised design based on IIT Bombay’s recommendations.Rather than clearing the project for execution, IIT Bombay asked NMMC to return to the drawing board and prepare fresh engineering plans based on its revised concept. The institute asked the civic body to clearly map the impact on existing trees, landscaped areas, drainage and utilities before resubmitting the proposal for a final technical review.Shrikant Patki of Palm Beach Greens said, “We are not opposed to infrastructure development. But it must go hand in hand with environmental protection, and the trees lining the Palm Beach Road walking track must be preserved.”NatConnect director B N Kumar said, “At a time when Navi Mumbai needs to expand its green canopy, the NMMC should strive to prevent the destruction of existing trees while taking sustained steps to increase the city’s green cover.”The report also flagged shortcomings in the original design, including closely spaced merging points and inadequate weaving distances that could affect traffic flow and safety during peak hours. It recommended changes in the junction layout and traffic channelisation to ensure smoother vehicle movement while minimising the impact on the existing green belt.

IT minister Ashish Shelar made the announcement in the state legislative assembly on Friday

Mumbai: A committee of members of both houses of the state legislature will be formed to make recommendations for regulating government employee transfers, ensuring speedy settlement of grievances, and improving transparency in government work, information technology minister Ashish Shelar announced in the legislative assembly on Friday.Shelar was replying during a discussion on a private member’s bill — Maharashtra Regulation of Transfers of Government Employees and Prevention of Delays in Performance of Government Duties Amendment Bill 2025 — moved by BJP MLA Sudhir Mungatiwar.The bill stated that transfers of government employees should be done within the time fixed as per this rule and AI too should be used. While demanding the formation of a committee to study and coordinate this issue, Mungatiwar demanded that the disposal of the files in the departments should be done quickly and that the minister’s office should have a limit of 45 days to dispose of files.“In order to bring more transparency in government work, the state government issued an order on transfers of employees in 2005. Later, it was amended several times. It was also adopted to evaluate the work of employees. Also, the method of preparing confidential reports has been adopted. In order to bring transparency in the administration and to work at a fast pace, AI has started to be used in the disposal of vacancies. So, a committee of members of both the houses will be formed to ensure coordination, transparency and disposal of vacancies at a fast pace,” Shelar said.