Mumbai News Updates: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and CM Devendra Fadnavis (File Photo)Mumbai news live updates, 31 October 2022: Amid a row over the Tata-Airbus project going to Gujarat, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said company officials had last year rued the “unfavourable” investment climate in the state. He claimed the decision to shift the project was taken when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. “I had invited the chiefs of the Tata Airbus Defence projects on April 24, 2021, at my residence ‘Sagar’, despite being a leader of opposition in the state. I spoke to them and told them as a senior leader, I will speak with the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to keep the project in Maharashtra. However, they told me ‘yahan ka mahol investment jaise nahi hai, Devendraji’ (the atmosphere in the state is not worth an investment),” he told reporters.
The war of words between independent MLAs Bachchu Kadu and Ravi Rana, which started after the latter accused the former of taking money to switch over to the Shiv Sena camp led by the Maharashtra Chief Minister, has now reached Eknath Shinde’s door with Kadu seeking a resolution of the issue by senior leaders of the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Kadu has sought an apology from Rana after the latter accused him of taking “50 khoke (bribe)” to switch over to the Sena camp led by Shinde. He said the allegations have not only defamed him but all Shinde faction MLAs, including the CM, who went to Guwahati. He said both Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis should clear the air.
While Opposition parties have alleged that after the formation of the Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state, four projects — Vedanta Foxconn, bulk drug park, Tata-Airbus and now Safran — have gone out of the state. The ruling parties, however, claimed all these projects went out of the state during the Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been admitted to the Breach Candy hospital for a check-up on Monday after complaining of uneasiness. He will be discharged on November 2.
A party statement said that he will be travelling to Shirdi on November 3 and will be present for NCP's state level study camp in Shirdi on November 4 and 5.
Pawar had undergone a gall bladder surgery at the private hospital in April last year. He had also undergone a medical procedure for the removal of a mouth ulcer.
Police on October 14 issued an order through a press note informing the general public that they will fine motorists who do not wear seatbelts from November 1. This means passengers in the rear seats of cars will also have to wear them.
The death of Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of Tata Sons, in a road accident in Palghar on September 4 put the focus back on the importance of wearing seatbelts.
Here is all you need to know about the new rule and fines for its violation
Days after the security cover of several leaders in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance was scaled down, it has emerged that the Y+ security enjoyed by 41 MLAs and 10 MPs in Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp will continue.
A home department official said currently MLAs and MPs who joined the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena are covered by Y+ security on the grounds that they could be targeted by members of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena. Read more
The Neral-Matheran toy train has ferried 3,698 passengers and generated a revenue of Rs 4.84 lakh after resuming service on October 22 following a three-year break, according to Central Railway (CR).
The CR, which looks after the toy train’s operations and maintenance, said 229 passengers travelled in the vistadome coach, 378 in first class and 3,091 in second class. Read more
The New Maharashtra Prohibition of Child Marriage Rules, 2022, has strengthened the provisions and laid out steps to be taken to prevent child marriages in the state. According to the new rules, any minor forced into child marriage shall be considered a child in need of care and protection as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and action would be initiated against the accused.
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Devotees gathered at beaches and artifical ponds in Mumbai on Sunday morning to mark Chhath Puja.
Amid a row over the Tata-Airbus project going to Gujarat, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said company officials had last year rued the "unfavourable" investment climate in the state.
He claimed the decision to shift the project was taken when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister.
"I had invited the chiefs of the Tata Airbus Defence projects on April 24, 2021, at my residence 'Sagar', despite being a leader of opposition in the state. I spoke to them and told them as a senior leader, I will speak with the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to keep the project in Maharashtra. However, they told me 'yahan ka mahol investment jaise nahi hai, Devendraji' (the atmosphere in the state is not worth an investment)," he told reporters.
Fadnavis also alleged that the project was possibly opposed (by the then state government) as it was coming to Nagpur, which is his home district.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, while speaking on the row over the Tata Airbus project going to Gujarat, said a false narrative is being created that big projects are going out of Maharashtra after the CM Eknath Shinde-led government came to power in Maharashtra. The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government is to be blamed for the loss of projects, he said.
"Tatas were looking at Gujarat for Tata Airbus deal as early as 2021. MVA was informed a year ago that the deal has already gone to Gujarat. In the last 2.5 years of the MVA government, there were so many cases of corruption that's why no industry wants to come here," he said at a press conference.
Fadnavis went on to says, "In next two years, we'll make Maharashtra No 1 in terms of investment. The mega refinery project will continue in Maharashtra. The center has given the maximum amount of infrastructure projects to Maharashtra. We've planned to invest Rs 25,000 crores in Maharashtra."
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The Eknath Shinde-led government has asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a probe into the allocation of works by the Mumbai civic body during the pandemic period when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power.
However, the exact period and the cost of the projects recommended for investigation by the CAG are unclear.
The allotment of a COVID centre by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the purchase of necessary items, and the distribution of work done illegally will be investigated through the CAG, an official said. (PTI)
A teacher is expected to act as a protector, a special court here observed while convicting a maulana of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl who used to go to his house to study the Quran in Arabic.
Special judge Seema Jadhav, designated to hear cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on October 20, convicted the accused and sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
The court also refused to accept the contention of the accused that he was falsely implicated in the case due to religious enmity. (PTI)
Three persons were injured when a slab from a flat in a four-storey building collapsed in Kalwa area of Maharashtra's Thane city, police said.
The incident took place around 10.30 pm on Sunday, when a slab of a flat on the first floor of the building collapsed on a barber shop on the ground floor, said Avinash Sawant, the chief of the regional disaster management cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation. A resident of the first-floor flat, an employee and a customer of the barber shop were injured in the incident, he said. (PTI)
After repeatedly resisting the idea of another tie-up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena for the civic polls in the state, the Maharashtra unit of the Congress now appears to be warming up to the prospect considering that a united Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition will be in a better position to outdo the BJP Eknath Shinde combine in the forthcoming polls.
Leaders of the three parties will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday to fine-tune their strategies ahead of the municipal council, municipal corporation and Zila Parishad polls. Read More
With criticism over Maharashtra losing industrial projects to Gujarat mounting, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP Monday announced that the Centre approved an electronics manufacturing cluster at Ranjangaon in the Pune district under the National Policy on Electronics.
“This will create a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem in Maharashtra. This Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Ranjangaon will be spread across 297.11 acres & Rs 492.85 crore will be spent on development. Rs 207.98 crore is GoI’s contribution,” he tweeted, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With senior NCP leaders launching a scathing attack on the Shinde-Fadnavis government over Maharashtra losing out on mega investment projects, the party’s Pune city unit staged a protest on Monday accusing the newly formed government of working in the interest of Gujarat and hampering the prospects of youths in the state.
The protest was led by the city chief of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) Prashant Jagtap outside Mamledar Kacheri in the heart of Pune. Agitators raised slogans against the state government and carried banners stating that the alliance sought votes for Maharashtra’s development but was keener to develop poll-bound Gujarat. Read More
On World Humanity Day Human Chain formed by the staff of NMMC to celebrate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallhabhai Patel at NMMC Headquarters CBD Belapur.
Maharashtra state has not witnessed a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases over two weeks since new sub-variants of novel coronavirus were reported here. However, state health officials who are studying the epidemiological characteristics of the new strains will continue to keep an eye on the pandemic curve.
The state has reported new sub-variants of Omicron – BQ.1, BA.2.3.20 apart from XBB, which is a recombinant of BA.2.75 and BJ.1. These are considered more transmissible and capable of bypassing immunity. With the ongoing festivals and coming winter season, the public health department is anticipating a rise in Covid-19 cases. However, so far, the situation has been under control. Click Here
Dr Gufran Beig, Founder Project Director, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) & Chair Professor NIAS, IISc, speaks to Omkar Gokhale on Mumbai’s deteriorating AQI, the contributing factors and what can be done about it.
The accumulation of suspended fine particulate matter in the air post-Diwali was high due to calm wind conditions which prevailed in Mumbai. The Southwest monsoon has just withdrawn from Mumbai. After the withdrawal of monsoon, anti-cyclonic circulation prevails, which lead to stagnant wind speed. In addition to this, Cyclone Sitrang, which formed in the Bay of Bengal, also contributed to slowing the wind speed on October 24. People celebrated Diwali with much vigour this year. Hence, with additional emissions due to burning of firecrackers, AQI shot up to ‘very poor’ category. However, it quickly recovered. Increased windspeed has led to improved AQI in Mumbai in the last two days. Due to heavy rain in the past two years in Mumbai, all pollutants got washed away and Mumbai observed “satisfactory” AQI in 2020 and 2021. However, this year, with the monsoon withdrawing earlier and no rain during Diwali, the pollutants were not washed away. Omkar Gokhale reported
They were one of the most dreaded mafia groups in Mumbai known for extorting money from celebrities and gunning down people. Today, the D-Company’s presence in the city has been curtailed and the gang has been reduced to “settling” land and property deals by cashing in on the fear still associated with the names of its founder and boss Dawood Ibrahim and his trusted aide Chhota Shakeel, both declared fugitives by the government.
Behind the shrinking and rescaling of D-Company’s operations in Mumbai lies a change of its fortunes after the death of one of its most powerful leaders, Dawood’s sister Haseena Parker, as well as the dogged efforts of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Mumbai police to wipe out their reach and threat in the city. Continue...
One more leopard walked into a cage trap on Sunday morning that was laid by forest officials inside the Aarey forest after a 16-month-old died in a leopard attack on Diwali.
This is the second leopard trapped by forest officials within a week. On October 26, forest officials had trapped a three-year-old male leopard, identified as C-55, which is suspected behind the attack on the toddler. Know More
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated tenders for constructing a rainwater holding tank at the Milan subway in the western suburbs.
The Milan Subway, located between Santacruz and Vile Parle, is a chronic waterlogging spot in the city. Every year, this low-lying area records a high volume of rainfall during monsoon leading to waterlogged roads and traffic woes. Read More