Two petitions have been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking an exemption from the ban on slaughter and sale of the meat of bulls/male calves from September 25 to 28 on the occasion of Eid festival.

The division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka clubbed the two petitions with other PILs challenging the controversial beef ban in Maharashtra. The hearing would be held on September 21.

One of the two petitions filed today seeks a direction to the state government to temporarily suspend provisions banning and penalising the slaughter of bulls/male calves and possession of their meat in amended Maharashtra Preservation of Animals Act.

According to the petitioners Aslam Alamgir Malkani and Ishaque Abdul Aziz Shaikh, the Act violates articles 25 (freedom of religion), 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) and 29 (protection of interests of minorities) of the Constitution.

The other petition, filed by Huzaifa Electricwala, also challenges the Act and seeks a similar relief.

The policy of hereditary recruitment of sanitary workers would now be applied for the scheduled caste workers other than those belonging to Valmiki-Mehtar community also, Maharashtra government said.

The hereditary recruitment of sanitary workers from Valmiki-Mehtar community would continue, it was decided in the cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here today, an official statement said.

As per the recommendations of Lad committee, set up in 1972, the government started hiring the heirs of retiring sanitary workers belonging to the Valmiki-Mehtar community.

A petition filed in the Bombay High Court last year had taken exception to this practice. While disposing it off, the court said the government should reconsider the system, as lots of unemployed youth all over the state may also want these jobs.

The official statement said while extending the principle of hereditary employment to sanitary workers from other scheduled castes, the government decided that the hereditary recruitment from Valmiki-Mehtar community should continue.

The cabinet also approved the proposal to elevate the post of chief engineer in Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to the secretary-level.

The objective was to expedite various infrastructure works to be undertaken by the MSRDC such as the Pune Ring Road, upgradation of Mumbai-Pune expressway, Mumbai-Nagpur super-communication express highway, etc, a PWD official said.

Since its formation in 1996, the MSRDC has constructed 55 flyovers in Mumbai, Bandra-Worli sealink and the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to consider recycling sewage water so that it can be used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes in view of the drought situation in the state.

A division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade had earlier raised concerns over the drought situation in Maharashtra and asked the government whether it had a contingency plan in place in view of the steady decline in rainfall in the state for the past few years.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by Solapur-based farmer Siddeshwar Warade seeking direction to the government to release water from Ujani dam for irrigation in Mohol and Mangalwedha talukas of Solapur.

The court was today informed by Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority that it will not be feasible to release water from the Ujani dam at the moment, but the situation will be reviewed at the end of October.

The authority suggested to the court that sewage water should be treated and used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes so that the water available through rainfall can be used for drinking purposes only.

Taking note of this suggestion, the court said, “Recycling seems to be the only solution. The government should consider this.

“In our view if water is treated and recycled and used for non-irrigation and irrigation purposes, much of the problem can be solved not only in the district of Solapur but in all other districts of Maharashtra,” Justice Kanade said.

The Maharashtra government has launched a Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) in every police station, with an aim to adopt a paperless working mechanism.

With this system, claimed to be the first such initiative by a state, the police will now be able to register an FIR with a single click.

Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao launched the CCTNS project at a function attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) KP Bakshi, Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal, and other dignitaries.

Addressing the gathering, the Governor said CCTNS was not just for checking the increasing crime graph, but it had the potential to transform the police force and make it more people-friendly.

“The system will help bring transparency in police administration,” he said.

He assured that it would enhance the reputation of the police department as CCTNS project was an affirmative step towards achieving the goal of ‘Digital Maharashtra’.

Proper co-ordination and sharing of data of crimes and criminals will benefit the state and country and help nab repeat offenders. It will lead to accurate investigation of crime and will increase conviction rate, Rao observed.

On challenges for police in 21st century, the Governor said, “We need well-manned, well-equipped, well-trained, modern police force to maintain safety and security of citizens and maintain law and order effectively.”

Chief Minister Fadnavis said on the occasion that the state needed quality policing to maintain law and order. Use of modern techniques will help achieve the goal, he said.

He announced that the state was developing many other applications related to CCTNS to make police people-oriented.

“CCTNS will ease burden on the police,” Fadnavis said.

NCP leader and former Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare, who was summoned by the ACB in connection with Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation’s Kondhane Dam scam, failed to turn up before the investigators, a top official said.

According to ACB DYSP Sanjay Mohite, the agency is carrying out an open enquiry in connection with the irrigation scam, and as part of their investigation, Tatkare was summoned on Tuesday over the alleged financial irregularities in the controversial Kondhane irrigation project in Raigad, where the construction cost allegedly went up by over 300 per cent.

But the senior leader gave ACB a miss and chose to be represented through his counsel. Also, the answers furnished by Tatkare in response to ACB queries were incomplete and unsatisfactory, it claimed in a release here last night.

Hence, again a detailed questionnaire has been sent to Tatkare through his counsel and the ex-minister has been asked to remain present in person at the ACB office on September 21, with replies to queries raised in the communication by the ACB, which is in the process of recording his statement now.

Meanwhile, the probe agency has registered offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act with Kopri Police, against a contractor and few other government officials in connection with the Balganga dam in Konkan region.

The arrested accused in the case are presently in judicial custody and hearing in connection with their bail applications have been posted for September 25, it added.

The Rs 327-crore Kondane irrigation project in the district of Raigad in Konkan was executed during the tenure of Tatkare.

Shortly after taking charge last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had given his nod to the ACB for opening inquires against Tatkare, former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, for alleged corruption in the irrigation scam.

In December 2014, four engineers in the irrigation department were suspended in the Kondhane Dam scam.

Primary charges against the officials relate to cost escalation of the project from Rs 80.35 crore to Rs 327.62 crore. Also, the decision to raise the dam height to 32.30 m was reportedly taken without seeking the approval from the Competent Financial Authority.

Kondhane Dam in Raigad district was part of the larger multi-crore irrigation scam that blighted the Congress-NCP rule in the state for 15 years.