Exuberant winners who were present at the venue expressed happiness that their dream of owning a home in the Mumbai had been fulfilled.

MUMBAI: Mhada conducted its computerised lottery for 2,640 homes at Rangsharda Auditorium in Bandra at noon Thursday. As their names flashed on screen, successful applicants received congratulatory messages from the housing board on their cellphones.The flats are located in Vikhroli, Goregaon, Magathane, Gorai, Chembur, Bandra, Ghatkopar, Girgaum, Wadala, Powai, Mazgaon, Powai, Dadar and Antop Hill.Exuberant winners who were present at the venue expressed happiness that their dream of owning a home in the city had been fulfilled. The first winner to come up was the elderly Dattu Sangle. “I have tried my luck at several Mhada lotteries. I retired from my job two years ago and grew to think I would never win a flat. Today, I feel one must keep the faith — it will happen, if not today then tomorrow.”Another lucky bidder, media executive Satyam Singh said affordable public housing was a real need for people who cannot opt for expensive projects by private builders.Mhada employees benefited from a separate housing quota instituted for them. Deputy engineer Sarika Lokhande had been applying since 2013. She said, “I was unmarried then and as per my income I applied under the EWS category. I got married in 2019. Over the years as my income rose I applied under LIG and MIG categories but never won. This year I applied under HIG — and today I have won a 1,300 sq ft 3 BHK apartment with beautiful grand balconies in Magathane, Borivli, at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore. I am so happy! My message to applicants is do not stop trying if small dreams fail. Maybe God has something bigger and better in store for you.”Another Mhada staffer Shubhangi Nikam who is visually impaired won two apartments, one in the Mhada employees’ category, the other in the disabled persons’ quota. “I will visit both locations and decide which to keep and which to surrender,” she said.CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde were unable to attend the lottery due to other commitments but despatched messages of goodwill. Meanwhile addressing the gathering, guardian minister for Mumbai suburban district Mangal Prabhat Lodha directed officials to take stringent action against developers who fail to hand over homes reserved for Mhada under applicable regulations. He stated that filing an FIR alone was not sufficient and, wherever necessary, such developers should be “sent to jail”.Minister of state for housing Pankaj Bhoyar, mayor Ritu Tawde as well as senior Mhada officials voiced their thoughts.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday indicated that it would on Friday pass an order to release on bail Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre (73) and three others who have been accused and arrested for allegedly beating up doctors, including a woman, at Shastri Nagar Municipal Hospital in Dombivli on July 6. The release would be on a strict condition to remain out of Maharashtra till the chargesheet is filed, said Acting Chief Justice RV Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad.Senior counsel Aabad Ponda, while seeking bail for Mhatre, said he was willing to stay outside the state till the chargesheet is filed, and the HC could impose such and other stringent conditions.The HC had after reading about the “brutal assault’’ on even a female doctor and the strike call given by Indian Medical Association (IMA) had on its own taken up the issue, stayed the bail orders for all four accused, and ensured Mhatre had gone back behind bars following his release from magisterial custody. Ponda said a “lesson was learnt”, but invoked the ‘bail, not jail’ principle.Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi, an amicus curiae — appointed to assist the court — in the matter said a speedy trial is important to send out a “strong message’’ to retain society’s faith in the system, especially where politicians are involved.Shishir Hirey, the state’s public prosecutor, said most of the probe is complete and the chargesheet would be filed in around 10 days, but the forensic reports are awaited.Mundargi submitted that if the HC were to direct the forensic laboratory, the report would be expedited. The HC said that it would do so, and sought to know from all sides present what other bail conditions be imposed. Senior counsel S U Kamdar, for IMA, suggested that Mhatre be kept outside the city at least till the trial is over and even after chargesheet is filed. Advocate Sana Raees Khan represented the three co-accused in court.The HC said it would issue directions that in 10 days, along with the chargesheet, a special public prosecutor with “large experience” be appointed, who should not be replaced mid-way, and that the trial be fastracked.All four accused, who are lodged at Aadharwadi Jail in Kalyan, would on their release be asked to report to the local police station outside Maharashtra and would not be allowed to contact any of the witnesses or other persons. No attempt to tamper with evidence would be tolerated too. The HC will pass the order on these lines on Friday.Kamdar also said the two doctors, including the woman doctor, who have still not reported back for work, be given police protection to enable their return. Both had tendered their resignations, which the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation had not accepted.Hirey said the doctor who lodged the complaint was given protection from his hometown in Washim to Mumbai, and local police there were “sensitised’’. He added that the state was ready to provide security, provided the doctors’ accept it because last time, the state was told their privacy would get compromised.

In the next phase, the BMC plans to introduce SMS alerts to keep applicants updated on the progress of their birth/death certificate applications

Mumbai: The BMC on Thursday introduced a computerised application management system at Citizen Facilitation Centres (CFCs) across all ward offices enabling birth and death applicants to submit requests and track their progress at a single location.The move comes after TOI’s August 2 report, ‘Birth certificate bottlenecks leave weddings, visas in limbo; BMC seeks 7 more registrars’, on how citizens were facing inconvenience in obtaining their birth certificates from the civic body. BMC’s medical health officers and record section doctors have reached out to the aggrieved cases mentioned in the report and tried to iron out the issues they were facing in obtaining the birth certificates.The new system will cover services including correction of birth, death and marriage certificates, insertion of a child’s name in birth certificates, and conversion of old birth and death certificates into the new QR code-enabled format. Officials said applicants will receive a Unique Acknowledgement Number (UAN) allowing them to track the status of their requests at the CFC.In the next phase, the BMC plans to introduce SMS alerts to keep applicants updated on the progress of their applications.Until now, citizens had to submit applications directly to the office of the medical officer of health and visit the office repeatedly for updates. The BMC said the manual process also made it difficult for the administration to monitor pending applications and workloads effectively.Additional municipal commissioner Prajakta Verma Lavangare said the new system is aimed at making birth and death registration services more transparent, efficient and citizen-friendly while ensuring time-bound processing of applications.The BMC has also set up dedicated counters at CFCs for converting old birth and death certificates into the new QR code-enabled format, a service expected to benefit applicants seeking corrected certificates for education, passport, visa and other official purposes.For birth and death records registered before 2016, citizens can apply for the new-format certificates through the Centre’s Civil Registration System (CRS) portal. However, the BMC said processing of such applications may take longer as older records require additional verification. The civic administration said efforts are underway to streamline verification of legacy records and reduce processing time.Advocate Faiyaz Alam Shaikh, who has been dealing with complaints pertaining to delay in obtaining digital birth certificates, said, “Birth registration is the foundation of a person’s legal identity. A birth certificate is the primary statutory document through which an individual’s identity, age, parentage and nationality-related particulars are officially recorded. Unreasonable delays in registration or correction directly affect citizens’ ability to exercise several constitutional and legal rights, including access to education, passports, employment, marriage registration, inheritance, banking and social welfare schemes. Therefore, efficient and timely civil registration is intrinsically connected.”

The new rules explicitly target legal ambiguities used in the past by liquor traders.

MUMBAI: In a major win for urban residents across Maharashtra, the state government has officially handed cooperative housing societies the power to veto liquor shops from moving into their premises. Under a fresh notification issued by the Home Department, liquor vendors looking to relocate their outlets to residential or residential-cum-commercial complexes will now strictly require a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the registered housing society.The decision comes after years of friction between housing societies and liquor vendors in urban hubs like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune. Residents have long complained about the nuisance of off-license liquor shops opening on their building ground floors—citing safety concerns, crowding, illegal parking, and disturbance to neighborhood peace. Previously, license holders often exploited procedural gaps or secured approvals before a housing society was fully formed, leaving flat owners with little legal recourse once the shop was operational.Plugging the partial OC loopholeThe new rules explicitly target legal ambiguities used in the past by liquor traders. Under the amendments to both the Bombay Foreign Liquor Rules, 1953, and the Maharashtra Country Liquor Rules, 1973—titled the 2026 Amendment Rules—the NOC requirement applies directly to FL-2 (foreign liquor off-consumption) and CL-3 (country liquor) licenses.Crucially, the government has mandated that an NOC from the society remains compulsory even if a complex has only received a Partial Occupancy Certificate (POC). In Mumbai’s real estate market, builders frequently hand over lower floors or commercial wings while upper floors remain under construction. By requiring an NOC at the Partial OC stage, the state prevents vendors from quietly setting up shop before flat buyers formally organize their managing committees.Fair balance for retailersWhile the notification empowers housing societies, it also offers operational clarity to business owners. To prevent societies from using annual renewals as leverage for extortion or ongoing disputes, the rule states that once a shop successfully relocates after obtaining the initial NOC, the license holder will not need to seek a fresh NOC every year.Signed by deputy secretary Ravindra Aute under the orders of the Governor of Maharashtra, the notification was brought into force immediately by invoking special powers under Section 143 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, bypassing the usual prior publication process to ensure immediate relief.Mixed reactions across the cityThe notification has evoked sharp and contrasting reactions from citizen groups and business owners.Housing society federations have hailed the amendment as a historic victory for residential rights. “For years, commercial space owners sold or rented ground-floor units to liquor shops without consulting the residents living right above them. The nuisance of drunken crowds and late-night commotion was borne by families. Making the NOC mandatory—even at the Partial OC stage—finally gives flat owners a direct say in shaping their living environment,” said Mr.Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association (MahaSewa).Conversely, liquor retail trade associations expressed deep concern, arguing that the mandatory NOC could lead to moral policing and administrative roadblocks. “While we welcome the waiver on annual NOC renewals, putting relocation permissions entirely at the mercy of housing society committees will make finding suitable commercial premises almost impossible,” noted a senior representative of the wine and liquor traders and retailers associations.“Housing societies often refuse permission indiscriminately due to social stigma, even when a business fully complies with all state excise and municipal safety laws. As most of the old buildings and slums are going under SRA or redevelopment, many liquor stores will have to shut down and shift. This new rule will make it very difficult for them to open in new places. As of now also there are atleast 3/4 shops that are shut from last 2/3 years even after paying the annual renewal fee. Government should bring out a special policy of shifting for liquor stores going under redevelopment or SRA,” members added.

File pic for representational purpose only

Mumbai: In a major win for urban residents across Maharashtra, the state government has officially handed cooperative housing societies the power to veto liquor shops from moving into their premises. Under a fresh notification issued by the state home department, liquor vendors looking to relocate their outlets to residential or residential-cum-commercial complexes will now strictly require a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the registered housing society.The decision comes after years of friction between housing societies and liquor vendors in urban hubs like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune. Residents have long complained about the nuisance of off-licence liquor shops opening on their building ground floors—citing safety concerns, crowding, illegal parking, and disturbance to neighborhood peace. Previously, license holders often exploited procedural gaps or secured approvals before a housing society was fully formed, leaving flat owners with little legal recourse once the shop was operational.Plugging the Partial OC LoopholeThe new rules explicitly target legal ambiguities used in the past by liquor traders. Under the amendments to both the Bombay Foreign Liquor Rules, 1953, and the Maharashtra Country Liquor Rules, 1973 — titled the 2026 Amendment Rules — the NOC requirement applies directly to FL-2 (foreign liquor off-consumption) and CL-3 (country liquor) licences.Crucially, the government has mandated that an NOC from the society remains compulsory even if a complex has only received a Partial Occupancy Certificate (OC). In Mumbai’s real estate market, builders frequently hand over lower floors or commercial wings while upper floors remain under construction. By requiring an NOC at the Partial OC stage, the state government prevents vendors from quietly setting up shop before flat buyers formally organise their managing committees.Fair Balance for RetailersWhile the notification empowers housing societies, it also offers operational clarity to business owners. To prevent societies from using annual renewals as leverage for extortion or ongoing disputes, the rule states that once a shop successfully relocates after obtaining the initial NOC, the license holder will not need to seek a fresh NOC every year.Signed by deputy secretary Ravindra Aute under the orders of the Governor of Maharashtra, the notification was brought into force immediately by invoking special powers under Section 143 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, bypassing the usual prior publication process to ensure immediate relief.Mixed Reactions Across MumbaiThe notification has evoked sharp and contrasting reactions from citizen groups and business owners.Housing society federations have hailed the amendment as a historic victory for residential rights. “For years, commercial space owners sold or rented ground-floor units to liquor shops without consulting the residents living right above them. The nuisance of drunken crowds and late-night commotion was borne by families. Making the NOC mandatory — even at the Partial OC stage — finally gives flat owners a direct say in shaping their living environment,” said Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.Conversely, liquor retail trade associations expressed deep concern, arguing that the mandatory NOC could lead to moral policing and administrative roadblocks. “While we welcome the waiver on annual NOC renewals, putting relocation permissions entirely at the mercy of housing society committees will make finding suitable commercial premises almost impossible,” said a senior representative of the wine and liquor traders and retailers associations.“Housing societies often refuse permission indiscriminately due to social stigma, even when a business fully complies with all state excise and municipal safety laws. As most of the old buildings and slums are going under SRA or redevelopment, many liquor stores will have to shut down and shift. This new rule will make it very difficult for them to open in new places. As of now also there are at least 3-4 shops that are shut from the last 2 to 3 years even after paying the annual renewal fee. Government should bring out a special policy of shifting for liquor stores going under redevelopment or SRA,” members added.

Mumbai: As the IMA in the state and MARD called off their strike on Thursday in the aftermath of high court directions, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) said it was continuing with homeopath registrations and even considering a new QR-coded certificate to verify credentials.There have been no new registrations after the first one on Tuesday, of homeopath Neha Pawar, who has a clinic in Mankhurd. “The new registration certificates would be similar to the ‘know your doctor’ initiative for MBBS doctors; we are adding more technical details to it,” said Dr Vinky Rughwani, MMC administrator.Even as the strike was called off, there was an impact on health services throughout the day. Severe disruptions were felt in the surgery departments as elective procedures were put on hold.At JJ Hospital, just 16 major surgeries and 27 minor surgeries were performed, as opposed to the daily averages of 39 and 57, respectively. A similar situation played out at four BMC-run hospitals.According to Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) president Dr Atharva Shinde, the association was unable to arrange legal representation on short notice for the suo motu hearing, and he had to present the arguments before the court himself, unlike the IMA, which had its lawyer.He said MARD will continue its protest, though the exact form of the protest will be decided on Friday. “We have thousands of resident doctors whose lives will be impacted by the further course of action; we need some time to decide. That said, we are still firm that our actions have been in the interest of the health of the common people,” said Dr Shinde.In a statement to the press, MARD said it was not inclined to withdraw the ongoing agitation at this stage. “This decision has been taken exclusively out of respect for the hon’ble high court and should not be interpreted as a dilution of our stand or demands,” the statement said.Doctors from various associations have been on strike since Tuesday after a GR issued on Monday allowed homeopaths to prescribe modern medicines upon completing a one-year certificate course in pharmacology under MUHS.“The court has said doctors just cannot go on strike. This will be further evaluated in the next hearing,” said Dr Shinde.