News Analysis India

Tag: Maharashtra

  • Maharashtra government upholds tax waiver to 1996 Michael Jackson show

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Over 24 years after “King of Pop” Michael Jackson performed in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in Maharashtra on Wednesday upheld the state’s decision to grant Rs 3.36 crore entertainment tax waiver to an event management firm for the musical concert.

    The decision to uphold the tax waiver was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party, the Shiv Sena, was in power along with the BJP when the much publicised concert was held in 1996.

    A statement from the Chief Ministers Office said the government had used discretionary powers under Section 6(3) of the Maharashtra Entertainment Duty Act, 1923, to give the waiver.

    Jackson had performed in Mumbai on November 1, 1996, and during the tour, he had also visited ‘Matoshree’, the private residence of Sena founder late Bal Thackeray and his family in suburban Bandra.

    The concert was organised by the Shiv Udyog Sena, then led by Raj Thackeray, cousin of Uddhav Thackeray, in collaboration with a private event management company.

    Raj Thackeray now heads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

    The then Shiv Sena-BJP government led by Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, had granted a waiver of Rs 3.36 crore in entertainment duty to Wizcraft Entertainment Agency Pvt Ltd, the event management company.

    However, the waiver amount was deposited in the courts treasury after the tax exemption was challenged in the Bombay High Court by the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, a prominent consumer rights forum.

    A division bench of the HC had set aside the tax exemption order, citing “non-application of mind”, and in 2011 sent the matter back to the government for reconsideration.

    With the cabinet decision on Wednesday, Wizcraft will get back Rs 3.36 crore which it had earned from ticket sales.

    Besides this, the cabinet took a number of other important decisions.

    The cabinet approved a proposal under which realty developers, who take benefit of the 50 per cent waiver in premium on construction projects till December 31, 2021, will have to pay entire stamp duty amount on behalf of customers.

    The CMO statement said the decision was based on the report by the Deepak Parekh committee set up to suggest measures to boost the states construction sector post-COVID- 19 lockdown.

    The cabinet also approved an MoU, signed with the central government under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, as per which 6,550-km-long roads will be taken up for repairs.

    The state government will bear the expenditure of road repairs, while road construction cost will be shared by the Centre (60 per cent) and Maharashtra (40 per cent).

    In another decision, one lakh solar energy-operated water pumps will be installed for the benefit of farmers, the release said.

    An expenditure of Rs 1,965 crore is expected on the project and the cost will be shared by the Centre and the state government over the next five years, it said.

    The cabinet gave a go-ahead to increase the number of beds at the Aurangabad Government Medical College and Cancer Hospital, the release said.

    With this decision, the 100-bed hospital will add 165 more beds.

    Also, 360 more posts will be created at the hospital for which Rs 24.6 crore will be earmarked, it said.

    Tropical medicine and health subject will be included in the medical curriculum in hospitals under the health commissionerate, the statement added.

  • Three held for abusing returning officer in Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi

    By PTI
    THANE: Three persons, including a Shiv Sena candidate, were arrested for allegedly abusing a returning officer of the upcoming gram panchayat elections in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Wednesday.

    Sena candidate Devram Shankar Gulvi and his brothers Pravin and Vinod were arrested late on Tuesday night, while three more accused are yet to be apprehended, the station house officer of Shanti Nagar police station said.

    According to the police, the Bhiwandi civic body’s assistant municipal commissioner Dr Sunil Bhalerao, who is the returning officer for Nimbavli gram panchayat polls, had received a complaint from an NCP candidate that his Sena rival had put up a banner for polls without obtaining permission.

    Even as the officer was probing the complaint on Tuesday, the rival group arrived at the scene and workers from Sena and NCP came to blows at the election office and vandalised the premises, the official said.

    The accused allegedly abused the returning officer who tried to pacify them, and additional police force had to be called in to address the situation, he said.

    Even at the time of distribution of symbols, there was a fight between the rival groups, the officer said.

    The situation was brought under control after about an hour, the official said.

    A case under section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty) and other relevant provisions of the IPC has been registered and further probe is underway, he added.

    Polling for 14,234 gram panchayats in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.

     

  • Maharashtra government could collapse over Aurangabad renaming: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale

    By PTI
    PALGHAR: Union Minister and RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale on Sunday said the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra could collapse over the renaming of Aurangabad and asked the ruling alliance to not get involved in a controversy on the issue.

    Addressing a press conference, he expressed confidence that a BJP-RPI government will soon be in power in the state, and this alliance would also win the BMC polls scheduled for 2022.

    The mayor of Mumbai will be from the BJP and the deputy mayor from his RPI(A), the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment predicted.

    Athawale also backed the farm laws introduced by the Centre and said they were beneficial for cultivators and protesters would not succeed in getting them repealed.

    He also supported construction of a mega port in Vadhavan in Palghar claiming it would generate employment in the region and asked those protesting against it to rethink their opposition.

  • Severe accident in Maharashtra, 5-storey building collapsed in Raigad, many people feared buried

    A horrific accident took place on Monday in Raigad, Maharashtra. A 5-storey building collapsed in Raigad. It is reported that 100 people are buried under the debris of this building.

    Mumbai. A horrific accident occurred on Monday in Mahad of Raigad, Maharashtra. A 5-storey building collapsed in Mahad. It is reported that 70 to 75 people are buried under the debris of this building. Police and administrative officials have reached the spot as soon as the news of the building collapses. The officials have started relief and rescue operations.

    According to news agency ANI, 3 NDRF teams have been dispatched to the spot. At the same time, giving information on this matter, Raigad SP said that 70 to 75 people may be buried under the debris.

  • Maratha quota: Maha sets up ‘war room’ to fill vacant posts

    The Maharashtra government has set up a ‘war room’ at the state secretariat complex here to complete the mega recruitment process as per the new caste reservation quota.

    An official said the government may complete the process of recruitment for all the 72,000 posts at one go before February, instead of filling 36,000 posts spread over two years.

    A bill that grants 16 per cent reservation to the members of the Maratha community in government jobs and education in Maharashtra was unanimously passed by both the Houses of the state legislature last week, meeting a long-pending demand of the influential community, which constitutes 33 per cent of the state’s population of around 13 crore.

    “The idea is to fill the posts before the Bombay High Court stays the decision. It will help the ruling party get Maratha votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls scheduled in 2019,” the government official said.

    In the last budget session of the state legislature, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that 72,000 vacant posts will be filled in two phases.

    The vacant posts to be filled are spread across departments like Agriculture, Public Health, Home, Animal Husbandry, Public Works Department, Water Resources, Water Conservation, Fisheries and Urban Development departments.

    On Wednesday, the government set up a war room on the seventh floor of the state secretariat to handle the mega recruitment process smoothly. The first meeting of all the departments concerned was held there.

    The senior official who attended the meeting said the government was keen on finishing the process of recruitment as soon as possible.

    “However, it would depend on the Information and Technology (IT) department, which will play a key role in the process,” he said.

    “The process of filling up of all 72,000 posts will be started now. It is scheduled to be completed before the Lok Sabha code of conduct comes into effect and before a possible stay by the high court,” he added.

    The state may issue an order delegating the powers to fill few posts at the ground level by the district collector or tehsil to save time, he added.

    Meanwhile, the state general administration department (GAD) Wednesday issued a government resolution stating that Marathas would be able to get 16 per cent reservation in the remaining 48 per cent posts in the open category and no share of 16 per cent in 100 per cent vacant posts.

    “This means that Marathas would get only 8 per cent reservation of the existing 52 per cent reservation,” the official said.

  • 16% Maratha quota Bill OK’d

    In a development that will fetch political dividends to the ruling BJP in forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the State, both the Houses of the Maharashtra Legislature on Thursday passed a Bill according reservations 16 per cent reservations in education and Government jobs to the community in the State, thus paving way for enactment of a law.

    Given that reservations will go up to 68 per cent in the State after the impending enactment of the new law, it remains to be seen if the new law — to be known when enacted — as the Maharashtra State (of seats for admission in educational institutions in the State and for appointments in the public services and posts under the State) for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, will stand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court which has put a 50 per cent on reservations.

    While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis introduced the Maratha reservations bill in the State Assembly, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil tabled it in the State Legislative Council. Both the Houses passed the bill unanimously, without a debate on the contents of the bill, amidst chants of “Chharpati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai”.

    Thanking the members in both the Houses of Maharashtra Legislature for passing the Maratha reservations bill without any discussions, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on the floor of the two Houses that the elected representatives had shown that they could come together to find a solution to the social issue like the Maratha reservations.

    After both the Houses of the State Legislature passed the Maratha reservations bill, the Vidhan Bhjavan complex reverberated to the echoes of slogans like ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai’, ‘Jai Bhawani, Jai Shivaji’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ raised by elected representatives belonging to all the political parties. Legislators of BJP and Shiv Sena, many of whom wearing saffron phetas (headgear), were seen distributing sweets. There were celebrations in front of the Maharashtra BJP headquarter, which is just a stone’s throw away from the State Legislature.

    Earlier, ahead of introducing the Marataha reservations bill, the chief minister tabled the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the report of the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC) which has recommended 16 per cent reservations to the Marathas in education and government jobs.

    Currently Maharashtra has 52 per cent reservations in jobs and educational institutions. Of the total 52 per cent reservations, SCs and ST communities account for 13 and 7 per cent, respectively, while OBCs have 19 per cent per cent reservations, Together, Special Backward Class and Nomadic Tribes account for 13 per cent.

    The Marathas, who have now been accorded 16 per cent reservations in education and government jobs, account for nearly 33 per cent of the total 11.25 crore population of Maharashtra.

    Once the Maharashtra State SEBC Act comes into force, then the total reservations in the State will go up to 68 per cent — next only to Tamil Nadu that has 69 per cent.

    By seeking to enact a law granting 16 per cent reservations to Marathas and in the process exceeding the 50 per cent cap on reservations imposed by the Supreme Court, Maharashtra has taken the Tamil Nadu route of attempting to circumvent the apex court’s cap on reservations.

    Though Devendra Fadnavis dispensation has not clarified as to how it face the scrutiny of the new law in the Supreme Court, it looks like the Maharashtra government will take the route taken by the Tamil Nadu government under late chief minister Jayalalithaa, which achieved its objective of increasing reservations to 69 per cent by passing the Tamil Nadu Act of 1994 and adding the 1994 Act to the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.

    Article 31B of the Constitution stipulates that the legislations in the Ninth Schedule cannot be challenged in courts. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court in IR Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu ruled that even those laws which are placed in the Ninth Schedule are subject to judicial review if the laws violate the basic structure of the Constitution. Interestingly enough, a petition challenging the Tamil Nadu Reservation policy is expected to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court in the near future.

  • Announce drought in Maha, says Sharad Pawar

    Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said drought should be declared in Maharashtra as many parts are facing severe water scarcity.

    He also said the Central Government did not seem to be coming forward to help Maharashtra which is facing drought.

    Speaking at a function here, the former Union Agriculture Minister said, “Drought should be announced at once and not ‘drought-like’ situation. In such a scenario, generally the Centre comes to the help of a state but it does not seem so”.

    He said the water scarcity situation in the state has become severe.

    “I had visited some villages and districts. They need immediate intervention of the state to face the situation,” he said.

  • Sukhoi plane crashes near Nashik, children and children living in the farm survivors

    At some distance from the accident site, some farmers were working in the farm and survived the child.

    Nashik (Maharashtra). A Sukhoi plane crashed in Niphad tehsil of Nashik on Wednesday morning. Both pilots of the plane saved their lives through parachute. The plane dropped into a farm. Farmers were working only a short distance from the accident site. All children and children survived.

  • Spreading word on blood donation 1 step at a time

    Thirty-three-year-old Kiran Verma has a goal in life: to decrease the number of deaths due to blood shortage to Zero by 2025 . For this, he is voluntarily travelling 15,000 km across India, Nepal, and Bhutan to encourage and spread awareness about blood donation. Verma, who founded ‘Simply Blood’-a blood donation platform- reached the state capital on Wednesday.
    Talking to the media, Verma said his journey began from Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Jan 26 this year. Till now, he has travelled more than 8,500-km- which includes 3,000 km by walking- in last 3 months.

    Verma added that every day more than 12,000 people die in India due to lack of availability of blood and his mission is to encourage at least 10 people every kilometre to take a pledge to donate blood at least once in their life. If this happens, he claimed, then his 15,000-km journey is going to save at least 1,50,000 potential lives through blood donation.

    “I started ‘Simply Blood’ when my own blood was sold to a poor family in Delhi. I left my job and took this as my goal- to decrease the number of deaths due to blood shortage to Zero by 2025. My life’s mission is to save 1 million lives through blood donation by 2020 using ‘Simply Blood’ platform,” he said, adding that ‘Simply Blood’ is world’s first virtual blood donation platform and first social media platform, an initiative by Change With One Foundation.

     Jain said that he has spread his message among more than 7,00,000 people across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and now in Chhattisgarh. In the coming days, he is planning to visit all states and all union territories.