A senior clerk with Public Works Department (PWD) has been booked for allegedly demanding Rs. 1.50 lakh bribe to speed up the process of the complainant’s application, seeking job on compassionate grounds in the department after his father’s demise, police said.

The accused Dileep Bhosale (51), senior clerk with the PWD office in suburban Chembur, was booked yesterday under the provision of Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988, said Rajesh Bagalkote, Assistant Police Commissioner (ACB).

According to Mumbai Unit of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the victim’s father who worked with the PWD office in Chembur as a labourer died some years ago. The victim sought job in his father’s position and submitted all the required documents in May 2013.

In June last year, the victim visited the office to enquire about his application status when Bhosale assured quickening up of his case provided the victim shells out Rs. 1.50 lakh.

The complainant agreed to pay the bribe and it was decided that Bhosale would receive Rs. 50,000 as first installment.

“The victim subsequently approached the ACB. We gathered all evidence against the accused and booked him in the case yesterday,” Bagalkote said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his administration will soon allow municipal corporations to raise funds by selling bonds in the market to enable them to undertake various infrastructure projects.

“I agree flexibility is needed for municipal corporations to raise money. For various reasons, in the last many years, they were not allowed to do so. I assure that immediately we will permit them to raise funds by selling bonds,” Fadnavis told a gathering of industrialists and planners here to discuss the ways and means to make the megapolis a global financial hub.

He, however, said the funds raised should be utilised well and in time.

“Raising funds is not an issue. The area of concern is don’t just raise funds, but also spend them. There are outlays but no outcomes. Nearly 30-40 per cent of the capital raised is unutilised. We have big plans to raise funds, but what is more important is to spend it in proper manner and in right time,” he said.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Sitaram Kunte said the civic body had been seeking permission from the previous UPA government to raise funds, but they were never approved.

“We had sought permission from the previous UPA government to raise up to Rs. 2,000 crore through bonds. But they never approved it…They must be having some reasons for it. But with the chief minister assuring us, we think we can easily raise Rs. 5,000 crore through bonds,” he said.

Kunte further said these funds would be utilised to create better infrastructure. “We will use the funds to create better infrastructure in the city, which we plan to make more competitive and inclusive,” he said.

It can be noted that the richest civic body in Asia earlier this week has allocated only a paltry sum for two large infra projects in the city out of its over Rs 33,400 crore annual budget, as more than half its annual planned expenditure is spent on its moribund army of employees. The BMC’s annual budget is larger than that of many small states.

A major fire on Friday broke out in a three-storeyed residential building near Byculla railway station injuring two persons but 20 other occupants were safely rescued, a Fire Brigade official said.

The blaze broke out at the top floor of ‘Noor Manzil’ in South Mumbai apparently due to a short circuit. The injured were admitted to civic-run Nair Hospital, he said.

“We got a call at around 9 am about a fire in a residential building near Byculla station. We initially treated it as a Grade-1 fire and sent four water tankers. It was later upgraded to a Grade-2 fire (major) and a total of eight fire engines and seven water tankers were deployed to put out the blaze,” the official said.

The fire apparently started due to a short circuit in electrical wiring and got aggravated when a cooking gas cylinder burst when the flames spread, he said.

“The third floor was almost gutted. The Fire Brigade managed to rescue around 20 people, who were present in the building at the time of the incident,” the official said.

One more person was arrested in connection with the criminal case in which underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar and his associate were apprehended early this week, police said.

Kaskar and his associate Shabbir Sheikh were nabbed on Tuesday in the case related to extortion and assault filed by an estate agent, Salim Shaikh, with J J Marg Police Station.

They are now in police custody. “A third accused in the case, Aasif Chunawala, was today arrested,” said Additional Commissioner of Police Krishna Prakash.

According to police, Chunawala (50) was questioned for several hours before being placed under arrest. An FIR was registered on Monday night after the complaint by the estate agent alleged that Kaskar and his men demanded Rs. 3 lakh from him and assaulted him last Friday in a building in Bhendi Bazar area, police said.

Kaskar had been deported from the United Arab Emirates in 2003. Dawood’s fifth sibling was wanted in a murder offence and his alleged role in the controversial Sara Sahara case where a building had come up illegally on a piece of prime government land in South Mumbai. A court acquitted him in both the cases in 2007.

A huge replica of Mumbai’s famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station was one of the star attractions of the India pavilion at the just concluded Dubai Shopping Fest, according to an organiser.

Maharashtra was the theme for the India pavilion at the Global Village.

The huge replica of the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus measured 80 meters in width and 10 meters in height.

The terminus is an extravagant architectural feat that has been a mainstay of the Mumbai railway system for many years.

The pavilion, spread across 11,500 square meters, provided an outlet to display their art on an international platform, and to spread knowledge of the work that are engaged with.

The vibrant display included traditional Indian clothing and handlooms, as well as samples of Indian foods, organiser Sunil Bhatia, Managing Director of E4 Entertainers, said.

The recipient of multiple awards over the years, the India Pavilion has always given visitors a window into Indian culture with its impressive themed displays, handicrafts stations, decorated shopping stalls and cultural shows, he said.

Taking inspiration from the ‘Surajkund Crafts Mela’ in Haryana, where traditional craftsmen from all over India use to exhibit their authentic products, Bhatia said he brought the similar concept to Dubai.

Maharashtra government will set up review and vigilance committees at district and tehsil levels to stop power thefts and provide good services to consumers.

At the district level, the committee will be headed by guardian minister and will also include superintendent engineer and district collector, an official in the energy department said.

The committee will also look into complaints of power deficit and T&D losses as well as monitor basic infrastructure of setting up the power projects.

It will look into whether the district is getting assured electricity supply and also review applications for agriculture pump connections.

The committee at tehsil level will be headed by the tehsildar and include local legislator, two sarpanch, zilla parishad members among others, the official said.

Appointment of prominent citizens in the committee will be done on the recommendation of the legislator by the tehsildar.

The committee will help Mahavitaran to recover electricity bills and stop power thefts, he added.