Page 4 - Maharashtra

ACME Solar commissions first phase of 100 MW wind project in Gujarat

ACME Solar Holdings on Saturday announced commissioning of 28 MW first phase of its 100 MW wind power project in Gujarat. With this, the company's total operational capacity has increased from 2,890 MW to 2,918 MW, ACME Solar said in a statement. The ACME Eco Clean wind project is located at Surendranagar in Gujarat. The project has been financed through Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and constructed through in-house EPC. The clean energy harnessed through the project is pooled at 33/220 kV pooling station and stepped up for evacuation to Shapar sub-station using a dedicated single circuit 220 kV transmission line. The project would share the sub-station with ACME Solar's already commissioned 50 MW wind power project. The power generated from the project will be sold through the 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed between ACME Eco Clean and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.

Maharashtra govt sanctions ₹3,258 cr aid for farmers hit by rain, floods

The Maharashtra government has sanctioned the disbursal of Rs 3,258 crore financial assistance to farmers who suffered losses due to excess rainfall and floods in 23 districts, state Minister Makarand Jadhav Patil said. The state relief and rehabilitation minister on Friday said that over the past two days, the government has approved the disbursement of Rs 5,364 crore through multiple resolutions to support farmers. The government has now sanctioned Rs 3,258 crore for 33.65 lakh farmers in 23 rain and flood-affected districts, he said in an official statement. The state government had, earlier this week, approved an aid of Rs 1,356.30 crore for 21.66 lakh affected farmers. Earlier this month, the government announced a compensation package of Rs 31,628 crore for farmers, asserting that the total assistance will be Rs 48,000 per hectare. Opposition parties have, however, dubbed the relief package as "too meagre" to help cultivators rebuild their lives. Heavy rainfall and floods i

Blue Energy signs pact with Maharashtra to set up ₹3,500 cr facility

LNG and electric heavy truck manufacturer Blue Energy on Thursday said it has signed an initial pact with the Maharashtra government to set up a new facility with a capacity of 30,000 trucks at an investment of Rs 3,500 crore. Anirudh Bhuwalka, Founder and Managing Director of Blue Energy Motors Ltd, said the company has so far invested USD 50 million in the plant. "Our target is to do 30,000 units (sales) of both heavy-duty electric and LNG-powered trucks cumulative in the next five years," Bhuwalka told PTI here. Earlier in the day, the company rolled out its first heavy-duty electric truck with a swappable battery and the country's first electric corridor between Pune and Mumbai. Fadnavis inaugurated the Mumbai-Pune corridor, which is the first step in the company's plans to electrify all major national highway corridors over the next three years. The Mumbai-Pune corridor is the first step in building a nationwide network of sustainable logistics, driving India's green freight

Festive surge: MahaRERA approves 405 realty projects across Maharashtra

MahaRERA approved 405 new real estate projects during Dussehra - its highest-ever single-day festive clearances - with a total of 809 approvals, extensions and corrections across Maharashtra

Gadchiroli Naxal surrender marks start of maoism elimination: CM Fadnavis

CM Fadnavis' remarks came after Naxal Commander Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, a senior CPI (Maoist) leader and Politburo member, along with 60 other Naxalites, surrendered

Fire erupts at residential building in Mumbai, 2 suffer from suffocation

Two persons suffered from suffocation after a fire broke out in a seven-storey residential building in Mumbai early on Wednesday, civic officials said. The blaze was reported in a flat on the second floor of Atul Cooperative Housing Society Ltd at Siddharth Nagar in Goregaon area at 3.53 am, they said. The fire brigade rushed to the spot and doused the blaze by 4.15 am, a civic official said. Two persons -- Rameela Saha (65) and Krunal Saha (40) -- suffered from suffocation due to the smoke. They were admitted to the Kokilaben Hospital and their condition was stable, the official said. The fire was confined to the electric wiring, installations, an air-conditioning unit, household articles, wooden furniture, mattresses, and books in a bedroom of the second-floor flat, as per the officials. The cause of the fire was not yet known, they said. This was the second fire incident reported on Wednesday in the metropolis, after a blaze at the popular Crawford Market in south Mumbai.

Ladki Bahin scheme: Maharashtra extends e-KYC deadline in flood-hit areas

Maharashtra minister Aditi Tatkare has said the November deadline for completing e-KYC for the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme will be extended by 15 days for women residing in the flood-affected regions. Significant improvements were being made to the e-KYC server system under the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' to ensure smoother and faster processing for beneficiaries, the women and child development minister told reporters here on Monday evening. Under the government's flagship 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', eligible women receive Rs 1,500 every month. Tatkare said the government has prioritised resolving the technical issues faced during e-KYC verification, which had slowed down the process in some areas. "Every day, e-KYC verification of around four to five lakh women is being completed. So far, more than 1.10 crore women have successfully finished the process, covering nearly 90 per cent of the total applicants," she said. The administration is committed to ensuring that no eligible wo

Maharashtra SEC asks EC to defer voter list revision until local body polls

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has requested the Election Commission to defer its plan, if any, to roll out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state until January 2026, citing the upcoming local body polls. The State Election Commission (SEC), in its letter dated September 9, stated that officials will be busy conducting the elections to local bodies. "The honourable Supreme Court of India has vide its order dated 6th May 2025 directed the State Election Commission to make an endeavour to conclude the elections to local bodies in Maharashtra within a period of four months while granting liberty to the State Election Commission to seek extension of time in appropriate cases," it said. Elections to all 29 municipal corporations, all 247 municipal councils, 42 nagar panchayats out of 147 town councils, 32 out of 34 zilla parishads, and 336 out of 351 panchayat samitis are due in Maharashtra, a senior official said on Monday. The SEC also pointed out

Fire erupts at several shops in Mumbai, doused after hours of effort

According to affected shopkeepers, the fire started at around 2:30 am, and most of the burnt shops were motor spare parts stores

Maharashtra govt suspends farm loan recovery in rain-affected tehsils

The Maharashtra government has announced relief for farmers who suffered losses due to rains in 34 districts of the state, with steps including rationalisation of loans from cooperatives and suspension of recovery for a year. A government resolution (GR) issued on Friday stated that 347 tehsils in the state witnessed large-scale damage to crops, farmland and houses, deaths, loss of cattle and other animals. The GR announced the rationalisation of loans from cooperatives, suspension of farm loan recovery for a year, and waiving of exam fees for students of Classes 10 and 12 in the affected tehsils. Electricity bills for three months will also be waived, it stated. As per the GR, the state agriculture department's assessments have revealed that crops on 65 lakh hectares were damaged due to the rains from June to September. Heavy rainfall and floods in September severely affected Marathwada and adjoining regions. Earlier this week, the state government announced a compensation packa

Fadnavis unveils Maharashtra's ₹50 trillion asset tokenisation plan

The Maharashtra CM said the state aims to become India's first "tokenised state" by digitising real-world assets to unlock Rs 50 trillion in dormant capital

App-based taxis, autos go on daylong strike for their demands in Mumbai

Several app-based taxis and auto rickshaws went on a one-day strike across Maharashtra on Thursday to press for their demands, including fare hikes, a union said, though some users said they did not feel any inconvenience. Dr Keshav Nana Kshirsagar, president of Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, the union that has been leading the strike, claimed that a large number of vehicles remained off the road due to the strike in cities like Mumbai, Nashik and Pune. The union has demanded fare rationalisation, bringing the rates on a par with those of the conventional black-and-yellow metered cabs, prohibition of bike taxis, and a cap on permits for black-and-yellow taxis and auto rickshaws. A welfare board for drivers of app-based cabs and enactment of a law for gig workers' are among the other demands of the union. Due to the strike, the Mumbai airport parking lot, which remains crowded with app-based taxis, was deserted on Thursday afternoon, said the union. Some passengers, however, claimed

Shiv Sena symbol row: SC fixes Nov 12 for hearing Uddhav faction's plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed November 12 for hearing a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena against the Maharashtra Assembly speaker's decision to allot the 'bow and arrow' party symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the hearing on the plea will start on November 12 and if need arises, it would continue on November 13. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Shiv Sena-UBT, said that local body elections are likely to be held in January next year and therefore there is a sense of urgency in the matter. He said the court may hear the matter finally before the local body polls. "We will hear all the parties on November 12 and if need arises, we can continue the hearing on November 13," the bench said. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the Shinde faction. On July 14, the top court fixed the matter for final hearing, saying the issue had been pending for long and

PM Modi to inaugurate Navi Mumbai airport, Metro line; launch mobility app

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate phase one of the Navi Mumbai International Airport and the final phase of Mumbai Metro Line-3 during his two-day Maharashtra visit beginning Wednesday. Modi will also launch Mumbai One, India's first integrated common mobility app for 11 public transport operators, an official release said. After reaching Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, PM Modi will undertake a walkthrough of the newly-built Navi Mumbai International Airport, it said. He will inaugurate the airport and also launch and dedicate various projects in Mumbai. He will also address a public gathering on the occasion. Phase one of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has been built at a cost of Rs 19,650 crore, the release said. It is India's largest greenfield airport project, developed under the PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) model. As the second international airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, NMIA will work in tandem with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Internationa

Maharashtra to become India's semiconductor capital by 2030: Dhavse

"The next decade will be defined by chips, and India will be at the centre of this transformation," Dhavse said

Maharashtra govt announces ₹31,628 cr aid package for flood-hit farmers

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced a compensation package of Rs 31,628 crore for farmers who suffered massive losses due to the recent rains and floods. The government will provide Rs 47,000 in cash and Rs 3 lakh in the form of aid under the Employment Guarantee Scheme per every hectare of farmland damaged by the floods, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. As to the loss of livestock, farmers will receive Rs 32,000 per animal, he said at a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting. While sowing had taken place over a total of 1.43 lakh hectares at the start of the monsoon, crops over 68 lakh hectares of land were damaged, Fadnavis said, adding that as much as 60,000 hectares of farmland was damaged due to the top layer of soil getting washed away. As many as 29 out of 36 districts and 253 (out of 358) talukas suffered due to the heavy rains, the chief minister said. The package includes compensation for crop losses, soil erosion, hospitalisation of injured

PM Modi to inaugurate Phase 1 of Navi Mumbai airport on Oct 8: Details

The inauguration of the first phase of the Navi Mumbai International Airport is scheduled for 3:30 pm on October 8, alongside key Mumbai infrastructure and metro projects

PM Modi to visit Maharashtra from Oct 8-9; to meet UK PM Starmer in Mumbai

During the visit, the two Prime Ministers will take stock of progress in diverse aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Massive fire breaks out at chemical godown in Thane; official injured

A major fire broke out at a godown storing chemicals along the Mumbai-Nashik highway in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Monday. While no casualty was reported in the blaze which erupted around 9.45 pm on Sunday, a fire officer was injured after falling into a drain during the firefighting operation, they said. Thick smoke from the burning chemicals triggered panic in the surrounding industrial area. Efforts were still on to douse the blaze, the officials said. The fire originated in the chemical storage unit located near Savad Naka in Lonad village of Bhiwandi town along the highway, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Saquib Kharbe said. Several fire engines and private water tankers were pressed into service, he said. There was no report of any casualty in the blaze so far. However, fire officer Nitin Lad sustained injuries after slipping and falling into a drain while wearing a fire suit during the operation and was immediat

Cyclone Shakhti turns 'severe'; IMD issues alert for Gujarat, Maharashtra

Cyclone Shakhti, the season's first in the Arabian Sea, has intensified into a severe storm with wind speeds reaching 100 kmph, prompting IMD alerts across coastal states