Page 36 - Maharashtra Government

BMC election may hold the key to new shift in Maharashtra political power

The first test of the government, headed by Shinde with the BJP as ally, will be the BMC elections

Maharashtra revenue department set for facelift with blockchain technology

A government office with piles of documents lying scattered and files gathering dust is a common sight. But, the Maharashtra revenue department will not look like that in a couple of years as it is set for a transformation by adopting the blockchain technology. This digital method of storing records in a business network will enable district collectorates to have a faster documentation process and also save cost, officials told PTI. At the Global Fintech Fest held in Mumbai last month, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the role of governance, especially in the revenue department, is going to change forever in the next two-three years. "The blockchain technology is going to save a lot of time of a district collector, who has to spend significant time in conducting hearings related to errors in documents. There will be no typical or conventional role left for a collector once we completely shift to the blockchain technology-based documentation, he said. The ..

Maharashtra to probe vehicles purchase at inflated rates in Uddhav regime

The Maharashtra government will conduct an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the purchase of vehicles by the relief and rehabilitation department when the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) was in power, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday. He made the announcement after a regional news channel (ABP Majha) claimed to have accessed documents that, it said, showed the relief and rehabilitation department purchased vehicles allegedly at inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic. The channel, citing the documents, claimed one of the vehicles - a mini bus - was purchased for Rs three crore when its market price was Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. The state government will conduct an inquiry into the allegations of buying vehicles at inflated prices. The details will come out in due course of time, Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, told reporters when asked about the suspected scam. The relief and rehabilitation department, then-headed by Congress ...

Maha govt commissions TISS to assess social, financial status of Muslims

The Maharashtra government has commissioned a detailed study to assess the social, financial and educational status of the Muslim community in 56 cities of the state, an official order said. As per a government resolution (GR) issued on September 21, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has been roped in to conduct the study for which Rs 33.92 lakh have been earmarked. The study is being commissioned by the Minority Development Department being headed by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "The study will focus on education, health, employment, standard of living, financial assistance, infrastructure availability and availing of government schemes in order to bring the Muslim community in Maharashtra to the mainstream," the GR said. The study will be conducted in 56 cities across six revenue divisions of the state, it said. The study will also focus on infrastructure development, financial assistance and benefits of government schemes in the areas dominated by the Mus

Maharashtra govt clears 181 industrial plots sanctioned by MVA after review

Amid a row over a Vedanta-Foxconn multi-billion project going to Gujarat, the Maharashtra government has after a review cleared 181 plots sanctioned by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for industrial projects. The Eknath Shinde-led state government had asked the industry department to review 191 plots of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) which were sanctioned by the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government after June 1 this year. Out of these, 181 plots have been cleared and the remaining 10 are under review and a decision will be taken soon, a senior official said on Tuesday. The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has been facing flak after Vedanta-Foxconn chose Gujarat to set up its multi-billion semiconductor plant. Shinde, who led a revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership in August this year, was sworn in as the CM of Maharashtra on June 30 after the MVA government collapsed. The CM on Saturday said the government has not give

NCP attacks Centre, Maha govt on farmer suicide, asks to decide priorities

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday attacked the Centre and the Maharashtra government over the suicide of a farmer in Pune, with party chief Sharad Pawar saying those in power in the state should decide their priorities, an apparent swipe at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. Addressing reporters, NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase claimed the farmer had blamed the Modi government for agrarian distress. "Dashrath Laxman Kedari, a farmer from Junnar (in Pune district) died by suicide on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday (September 17). He blamed the Modi government for farmers in distress in the country. We condemn the Modi government. When an annadata (food provider) commits suicide, then the government has to give a justification for this, Tapase said. Reacting to the farmer's suicide, Pawar said those in the power in the state, where farmers have to resort to suicide, should decide "what to celebrate and what to appreciate". Pawar was ...

Stop kidding, get serious now: NCP's Sule to Maha CM on Vedanta-Foxconn row

Scores of NCP workers were detained at a noisy demonstration in Mumbai, and in Pune, raising slogans against Shinde-Fadnavis for the state losing the prestigious Vedanta-Foxconn project to Gujarat

E-registration of property promises freedom from long queues, touts

However, the procedure is currently limited only to primary sales in Maharashtra

Thoroughly investigate Cyrus Mistry's fatal accident: Maha govt to police

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he has asked the state police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed. Fadnavis said he was shocked and deeply pained to know about the demise of Mistry (54) in the unfortunate accident near Palghar adjoining Mumbai. "Spoke to DGP and instructed for detailed investigations," tweeted Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister. "My deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues," he said. Mistry was on Sunday killed after his car hit a divider in Palghar district. He was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a Mercedes car, a police official said. The accident took place on a bridge over the Surya river, Palghar district Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said.

Cabinet expansion the next challenge for Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Government has 23 vacant ministerial berths to fill, even as it prepares for municipal elections, and battles a shift in Shiv Sainiks' sympathies

Maharashtra to amend NDPS Act to make it more stringent, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra will amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and make it more stringent by making abetment a serious offence, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. He was speaking in the Legislative Council. Saying that the menace of psychotropic drugs is spreading like cancer, Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, said the government plans to conduct awareness programmes against drugs in a big way. Under the NDPS Act one needs to possess commercial quantities of drugs or consume drugs for it to be considered a crime, he said. We have decided to bring state amendments to the NDPS Act and it will not be restricted to consumption and possession alone. Abetment of crime will also be considered a serious offence. This will ensure that loophole in the NDPS Act is not misused, Fadnavis said.

Gadkari urges Maha govt to improve public transport, use modern technology

To make the maximum number of citizens use the public transport, it is time to use technology in a sophisticated way, said Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari

Ajit Pawar slams Shinde-led Maha govt on farmer suicides, flood situation

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar claimed that as many as 137 farmers have died by suicide in the state since the Eknath Shinde-led government came to power

Uproar in Maha Assembly as Health Minister fails to reply satisfactorily

Maharashtra's newly appointed Health Minister Tanaji Sawant on Thursday failed to reply to questions raised in the Maharashtra Assembly over issues like elephantiasis and illegal abortions, which led to an uproar in the House. The House proceedings during the Question Hour were disrupted after Sawant failed to give satisfactory answers. Some members asked questions about Palghar district reporting a rise in the number of cases of elephantiasis and illegal abortions in Beed district. Sawant said, I have no information on any of the questions. I have taken charge of the ministry a couple of days back. Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar asked Speaker Rahul Narvekar to intervene as Sawant could not give a satisfactory reply to the questions. Sawant had served as the state water conservation minister in 2019 under the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He had stoked a controversy by attributing a breach in Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district, which led to the death of 18 people, to the

Maharashtra Oppn raises slogans against Shinde govt before monsoon session

Just before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature began on Wednesday, the opposition parties raised slogans against the Eknath Shinde-led state government on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan here. Led by Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, the leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and other allies shouted slogans against the government over farmers' issues. Some members of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, including MLA Aaditya Thackeray, also took part in the sloganeering. Some opposition members were seen holding placards that questioned the legitimacy of the Shinde-Fadnavis government. "This government has ignored the plight of farmers who lost their crops due to excess rains. The government's legitimacy is also in doubt and being debated legally," an opposition leader said from the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in south Mumbai. Aaditya Thackeray said, There are no two groups of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra legislative ...

Oppn raises slogans against Shinde govt before start of assembly session

Just before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature began, the opposition parties raised slogans against the Eknath Shinde-led state government on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan

Maharashtra committed to provide reservation benefits to OBCs, Marathas: CM

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said his government's priority is to work for the common man and it is committed to extending the reservation benefits to the OBCs, Maratha and Dhangar communities

Panel clears ex-NCB chief Sameer Wankhede of fake caste certificate charge

The government order came after the Mumbai District Caste Scrutiny Committee probed the issue for nearly seven months and gave the clean chit to the IRS officer, currently posted in Chennai.

75% of Maharashtra's 'mini cabinet' ministers face criminal cases

The 18-member 'mini-cabinet' expansion of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis have thrown up many facts, including 75 per cent of total 20 'crorepati' ministers have criminal cases lodged against them

BJP washing machine: Cong over induction of Sanjay Rathod into Maha cabinet

The BJP "washing machine" is now washing a Shiv Sainik who has become a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet after having been forced to resign when the saffron party was in the Opposition, the Congress said on Thursday. The swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was an apparent reference to the induction of rebel Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Rathod into the state cabinet. Rathod, who was a minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, had resigned last year after his name was linked to the death of a woman in Pune. "Congressmen with skeletons in their cupboards took advantage of the BJP Washing Machine to become CMs, Ministers, MPs & MLAs," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet. "Now the same machine is washing a Shiv Sainik who's become a Minister now after having been forced to resign when BJP was in the Opposition in Maharashtra," he said. Rathod joined the Shinde camp after the latter rebelled against the Shiv Sena leadership .