Page 21 - Maharashtra

Oppn targets Maha govt over Thane tunnel project, alleges ₹3,000 cr scam

Opposition legislators on Wednesday staged a protest at the Maharashtra legislature complex accusing the BJP-led government of favouring a private firm for a major tunnel project in Thane, and alleged that it involved a Rs 3,000 crore scam. The tender process for the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project was cancelled by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in May after the L&T, which had been disqualified, moved the Supreme Court. Standing on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan complex here, MLAs and MLCs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) shouted slogans and claimed that the government cancelled the contract only because it feared action by the Supreme Court. The monsoon session of the state assembly and legislative council is underway since Monday. Among those who took part in the protest were Leader of Opposition in the council Ambadas Danve (Shiv Sena UBT), Satej Patil of Congress, and NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil. "Despite serious concerns being raised about ..

Supreme Court to hear Shiv Sena (UBT) plea over party symbol on July 14

The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing on its plea over the contentious Shiv Sena symbol in wake of the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran which agreed to list it on July 14. The counsel for the Shiv Sena (UBT) informed the bench that local body polls were likely to be notified soon in the state. The counsel appearing for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction said a similar request was made on May 7 before a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, also hearing the symbol row matter, and it was rejected. The Shiv Sena (UBT) counsel argued that Justice Kant-led bench had said the matter could be mentioned during the top court's partial court working days. He argued the matter raised the "question of peoples' choice". He said the plea seeks an interim arrangement similar to the one directed by the apex court in the Nationalist Congress P

Truckers go on indefinite strike against e-challans in Maharashtra

Truckers in Maharashtra went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday to protest against the e-challan system and press for other long-pending demands, disrupting goods transport services across the state, transporters' representative said. The transporters have complained the recovery process by authorities has become aggressive and is disrupting business operations, besides mounting fines of e-challans. The Vahatukdar Bachao Kruti Sanghatana, an action committee of transporters' associations, gave the strike call. While the truckers began the strike from midnight, bus operators have deferred their participation for the next few days. "The strike has received a mixed response as it is the first day, but the situation will be different post-afternoon," claimed Uday Barge, convener of the action committee. He said 1.5 lakh and 2 lakh trucks and other goods-carrying vehicles in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra would go off roads due to the strike. Barge claimed all trucks were off

Maharashtra truckers to strike from midnight over e-challan penalties

As many as 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh trucks and other goods-carrying vehicles in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra will go on strike after midnight, said Uday Barge, convener of the action committee

Seven Nashik's CNP employees booked for using dummies in recruitment exam

The Mumbai police have registered a case against seven employees of the Currency Note Press (CNP) in Nashik for allegedly using dummy candidates during a recruitment examination held here in 2022, an official said on Tuesday. The case, registered with Upanagar police in Nashik last month, was transferred to Powai police on Monday, as the examination for 149 vacancies across various posts took place at a centre in the area, he said. The accused, Raviranjan Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Shishupal Kumar, Ayush Raj, Rajib Singh, Sandip Kumar, and Ashutosh Kumar, hail from Nalanda district in Bihar. The irregularities came to light when their education certificates were found to be fake during the verification process, the official said. Further probe by the vigilance department revealed that the accused had used dummy candidates to appear for the recruitment exam in 2022.

'Fadnavis' govt cancelled the decision': Athawale on Maha language policy

RPI chief Athawale's remarks come amid Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' announcement to withdraw the resolution on the three-language policy on June 24

Maharashtra FYJC admission 2025: Reporting at allotted colleges from today

The Maharashtra School Education Department begins FYJC (Class 11) admission reporting at designated colleges from today, June 30, for the 2025 academic session

Fadnavis cancels 3-language policy, forms new review panel after protests

Maharashtra withdraws its three-language school policy after protests. Opposition clarifies they aren't against Hindi, but oppose its forced inclusion from Class 1 in Marathi, English-medium schools

Language row a distraction from core issues, says Prithviraj Chavan

Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has alleged that a controversy over the 'imposition' of Hindi language in Maharashtra was being created to divert people's attention from core issues and underlined the need to improve the quality of education. Claiming a drastic cut in the budgetary allocation for education, the former Maharashtra chief minister said the focus should be on providing quality education to students and strengthening infrastructure in the educational sector. "The budgetary allocation on education should be increased. The controversies over English and the imposition of Hindi are irrelevant and being created to divert focus from the core issues," Chavan told reporters in Kolhapur on Friday. The former Union minister claimed 41 per cent of posts of teachers in IITs are lying vacant in Maharashtra. "Similarly, 70 per cent of vacancies in agriculture universities are not filled," he said. The language row erupted after the state government last week issued an amend

Maharashtra logs 13 new Covid-19 cases, one fatality; tally hits 2,462

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 13 new cases of COVID-19, which took the tally of infections to 2,462, and one death, the health department said. A 65-year-old woman suffering from comorbidities, including rheumatoid arthritis, died in Kolhapur, an official said. Since January 1, the state has recorded 2,462 COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, the department said. Of the fresh cases, five were reported from Pimpri Chinchwad, three from Nagpur, two from Pune and one each from Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Satara, an official statement said. The health department has conducted 28,486 COVID-19 tests across the state since January 1, and 2,277 patients have recovered from the infection till date, it said. Mumbai has reported 980 cases, including 539 in June alone, so far this year. At least 37 patients have succumbed to the virus in the state since January 1, of whom 36 had comorbidities (pre-existing health conditions that can increase the risk of severe illness), the statement said.

Raj, Uddhav Thackeray join forces to protest Hindi imposition in schools

A large-scale protest call was made by Raj Thackeray to oppose the state government's three-language formula, which mandates Hindi as the third language in Maharashtra schools

Maharashtra transporters to go on strike from Jul 1 to protest e-challans

Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik has said the government is committed to addressing the grievances of transport operators, who have threatened to go on strike from July 1 to protest against the e-challan system for traffic violations. The minister on Thursday directed officials to form a committee and submit a report within one month concerning the transporters' strike threat. Transporters in Maharashtra, including private bus and truck operators, have called for an indefinite strike from July 1 to protest against the unjust collection of fines through e-challans and to press for their other demands. A release issued from the office of Sarnaik, who heads the transport ministry, said the government is determined to resolve the grievances of transport operators. Vahatukdar Bachao Kruti Samiti, an action committee of transporters, is not satisfied with the move, its leader Uday Barge told PTI. Transporters are firm on launching the strike on July 1 for demands like stopping the ..

Raj Thackeray calls for July 5 Marathi unity march against Hindi imposition

The announcement was made through a statement on the social media platform X, where Thackeray asserted that the event will be a display of Marathi unity and cultural pride

New India Assurance gets ₹2,298 cr GST demand notice for 5 financial years

The company has received a show cause notice dated June 26, 2025, from the office of Additional Commissioner

Tata Power applies to expand electricity distribution in Maharashtra

Tata Power has applied to distribute electricity to various pockets of Maharashtra as part of its efforts to expand beyond the financial capital, officials said on Thursday. The company has filed for a license across key growth regions, including parts of Mumbai, Pune, Sambhaji Nagar and Nashik, they added. It can be noted that through amendments made to the Electricity Act, private distribution companies are allowed to apply to serve various parts. However, they were hesitant to apply due to the high investments required for setting up such infrastructure. In 2022, Tata Power's rival Adani Group, with which it competes in Mumbai suburban areas, applied for select areas and expressed intent to invest up to Rs 5,700 crore towards the initiative. In the application submitted before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), seeking the grant of a distribution license to serve key regions across the state, the Tata Group company has evinced interest in serving areas li

Maha transporters threaten strike from Jul 1 against traffic e-challans

Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday directed officials to form a committee and submit a report within one month in connection with the threat by transporters to go on strike from July 1 to protest against the e-challan system for traffic violations. A release issued from the state transport minister's office said the government is committed to addressing the grievances of transport operators. Transporters in Maharashtra, including private bus and truck operators, have called for an indefinite strike from July 1 to protest against the "unjust" collection of fines through e-challans as well as for other demands. Vahatukdar Bachao Kruti Samiti, an action committee of transporters, is not satisfied with the move, said its leader Uday Barge to PTI. Transporters are firm on launching the strike on July 1 for demands like stopping the forceful collection of e-challan fines, waiving existing penalties, cancelling the mandatory cleaner rule for heavy vehicles, and reconsidering

Cabinet approves ₹3,626 cr Phase-2 expansion of Pune Metro Rail Project

The new Pune Metro corridors will cover 12.75 km, connecting suburbs like Wagholi and Chandani Chowk, with a projected ridership of 3.49 lakh by 2057

ED raids in Gujarat, Maharashtra in cyber fraud probe over ₹100 cr scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in Gujarat and Maharashtra as part of a money laundering investigation linked to fraudsters who allegedly committed cyber crimes like digital arrests and transferred funds of more than Rs 100 crore abroad, official sources said. The raids were conducted in Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and in Mumbai by the Surat sub-zonal office of the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from a Gujarat Police FIR against Makbul Doctor, Kaashif Doctor, Bassam Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai, Maaz Abdul Raheem Nada and some others, the sources said. The accused are alleged to have been involved in cheating general public through various cyber frauds such as fake USDT trading (crypto currency), digital arrests, threatening innocent individuals by sending fake notices of law enforcement agencies etc., they said. The money obtained from gullible persons through this cyber frau

MSRTC's accumulated losses rise to ₹10,324 cr in FY24, reveals white paper

The state-owned transport corporation's accumulated losses surged to Rs 10,324 crore in FY 2023-24 from Rs 4,603 crore in 2018-19, as per the MSRTC's white paper

UP, Gujarat, Maharashtra to lead ₹10.2 trn state capex push in FY26: Report

A Bank of Baroda study finds over five states will account for nearly 50% of ₹10.2 trillion in state capital outlay for FY26, with GST remaining the largest tax revenue contributor