The BMC will not realise Rs 1,080 crore in revenue as property tax hike has been deferred for yet another financial year in Mumbai, reports Richa Pinto.
Officials said property tax collection had already taken a hit during the two years of the pandemic.
The BMC is also forgoing Rs 462 crore due to the property tax waiver for those living in homes below 500 sq ft. This concession has been implemented from January 1 onwards.
A total of 16. 14 lakh residential flat owners have benefited from it. A hike in one of the civic body’s biggest sources of income is due to take place every five years. The last time property tax was hiked was in 2015.
Thereafter, in 2020 and 2021, hikes were deferred owing to the pandemic. This year, it was deferred a third time last week.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA and employment guarantee and horticulture minister Sandipan Bhumare on Saturday claimed that more legislators from the Uddhav Thackeray faction are in touch with them and would soon join chief minister Eknath Shinde’s group.
“Out of the 10-12 MLAs he [Thackeray] has, one of them met Shinde and me the other day. He said how to join. . . I said no problem, come here,” Bhu mare said while speaking at a public meeting in Paithan in Aurangabad district.
Close on the heels of its record of constructing a 12-storey building comprising 96 flats in 96 days in Navi umbai’s Ulwe node, Cidco has achieved yet another feat by erecting 500 slabs in just 489 days.
Cidco vice-chairman and managing director Sanjay Mukherjee on Sunday tweeted that the city planner has completed a record 500 building slabs construction within 489 days at sectors 28, 29 , 31 and 37 in Taloja node, which is 1. 02 slabs built per day.
This has been done under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana for mass and affordable housing.
BMC election would be the tough task for Shiv Sena 5
On a very tragic note Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackrey had to step down as CM and since then nothing seems to be going well with Shiv Sena, even the party symbol is at stake. Eknath Shinde has made many changes in BMC because forthcoming elections are very crucial for him. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray slammed the civic administration over ad hoc transfers and reversal of orders in the BMC. Aaditya said that never in the past had the city witnessed random transfers, especially while in the middle of the monsoon and approaching festivals. Aaditya said that due to the series of transfers, Mumbai’s governance was being treated in a poor way. Over the last one month, soon after the CM Eknath Shinde faction and BJP government came to power, close to a dozen officials had been shunted out and given new postings, but in some cases their orders were changed or reversed within days. Senior civic officials said such ad hoc transfers especially during the monsoon are hampering civic works in the city.
The BMC is the Sena’s heart. Shiv Sena is not like other parties; it is first a sanghatana (organisation) and then a paksh (party). The Sena’s real assets are its grassroots networks built around the shakhas and shakha pramukhs. MLAs come and go but shakhas remain Shiv Sena has already identified the second rung functionaries and leaders who were sidelined previously since the MLAs were controlling appointment of office bearers in their home districts. Now that the MAs have rebelled, many secondrung leaders have approached the party to work. These appointments will be made soon so that there is no vacuum ahead of the BMC polls
Meanwhile, trends in the political corridor suggest the anti-incumbency factor may tilt in favour of BJP in the BMC polls. Satta Bazar, the illegal betting market for elections in India, suggests that the change in power factor may tilt in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and hurt the Shiv Sena (SS) in the Mumbai municipality (BMC) polls. The BMC elections are important for political parties since it has a budget of around ₹50,000 crore and cash reserves of over ₹80,000 crore.
BMC elections will see four main political parties in Mumbai, including the BJP, Shiv Sena (SS), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, NCP and Congress fighting over 237 seats, ten more than 2017 polls. The BJP is expected to achieve a comfortable victory over at least 120 seats, and the tally is expected to go to 130 seats as per the trends.
With the MVA government falling and Eknath Shinde taking over in alliance with the BJP, former CM Uddhav Thackeray faces an uphill task for the BMC polls. Unless Thackeray decides to mend fences with Shinde and the rebels, it will be a much-diminished party under his leadership that will clash with BJP to retain its biggest bastion-Mumbai-which it has held for three decades. Civic polls in the city are slated for September/October 2022.
Shinde’s role will be crucial in the BMC polls, especially if his faction decides to tie up with the BJP. While it will be hard for Uddhav Thackeray to accept the rebels back, it may be one of the options if the Uddhav camp wants to retain the BMC. The perception is that unless Thackeray accepts Shinde back into the fold, he will find it hard to withstand a rejuvenated BJP.
In the 2017 polls, Sena won 84 seats, while BJP had 82. Later six from MNS and some independents joined Sena. Total number of electoral wards in the BMC is now up from 227 to 236 following redrawing of ward boundaries. The other option for Uddhav is to form an alliance with Congress and NCP to take on the combined might of the BJP and the Shinde camp. After losing 2/3rds of MLAs including all elected cabinet ministers to Shinde’s camp, the contest will be seen as a make-or-break for Uddhav’s Sena.
Even though Eknath Shinde is a Thane-based leader with little presence in Mumbai, since Uddhav has lost power, the momentum will be with the BJP. Shinde’s group won’t have much say in the BMC so it will be a clear Uddhav versus BJP fight. Many Sena corporators will also rebel and fight on tickets from the Shinde camp, some may even join the BJP. Sena MLAs like Sada Sarvankar (Mahim), Prakash Surve (Magathane), Yamini Jadhav (Byculla) and Mangesh Kudalkar (Kurla) have already joined the Shinde camp and could dent Thackeray’s prospects unless he agrees to accept them back.
Municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal on Saturday issued a stop-work notice for the 16. 5-acre Bhendi Bazaar cluster redevelopment project.
The notice came within two days of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announcing an indepth inquiry into the project following complaints of change in layout plans affecting road widths.
The Indian Army began the reconstruction of the 150-year-old Bailey Bridge over the Sukhtawa river, which had collapsed due to a heavy-weight trolley passing over it, earlier in April.
This comes as a massive relief as traffic remains a major issue on the NH-69 of the Bhopal-Nagpur Highway.
Since April, the administration had tried to manage transport through a temporary bridge, but the backwater from the Tawa Dam and flood situation from the Sukhtawa river was creating continuous disturbances.
So, the administration decided to reconstruct the Bailey Bridge, with assistance from the Army. The Army is using the same technique, which is used to build bridges in hilly areas. A similar technique was also used by the Army on the Indo-China border. These types of bridges, take lesser time in being made.
Madan Singh Raghuvanshi, the Sub Divisional, magistrate of Itarsi said that 102 VC engineering battalion, consisting of around 70-80 soldiers, is working on the bridge.
“The Army has started the work and it will be completed in almost 3 days. The 150-year-old bridge had collapsed, after which the Army constructed the Bailey bridge over it. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has provided the material worth Rs 1 crore for the project,” the SDM said The Itarsi SDM also said that this bridge would be able to sustain 40 tonnes of weight passing over it.
The bridge will be 93 feet long and 10.50 feet wide. Also, it will be very strong and can sustain even 40 tonnes of weight passing over it, but vehicles of a heavier weight than that, won’t be allowed on it,” the Itarsi SDM further added.
The Barsur Marg connecting Narayanpur to Dantewada, passing through the dense forests of Abujmarh which was closed due to Naxalite activities, is now once again set to witness its old charm with restoration work.
In the 90s, the road used to be a highway and there were mandis of tamarind and other forests produced along the route.
Gradually due to Naxalism, this road was completely closed. The villagers living in this region had lost contact with the district headquarters and other places, they had to travel many kilometers on foot.
Further, villagers were not getting the benefits of the welfare schemes run by the government. The children did not have access to education. But now with the help of the security forces, the administration is restoring the road. Only 4 and a half kilometers of work is left on this road including small bridge culverts.
According to police, about 10 security forces personnel laid down their lives to ensure the construction of the road amid the Naxalite threats. Sadanand Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Narayanpur said, “This road of Abujmarh is a very important road and it is connecting Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur passing through Abujmarh. After the closure of the road, our tribal brothers and other villagers of Abujmarh could not get the benefits of health and education. The area turned into a den of Naxalites.”
Kumar said the construction of the 85 km road started in 2015 and now only a 4.5 km stretch between Kadamota to Bodri is yet to be completed. He hoped that by the end of November the entire road will be completed.
“The biggest challenge to build this road is of Naxals. If people have access to connectivity, then it causes more trouble for the Naxalites. Last year many soldiers laid down their lives in the call of duty. Five DRG jawans were killed in IED blast in which 23 jawans were injured. This year one of our assistant commanders was killed near Kademet. A civilian was also killed.” the official said.
Kumar said once the road becomes functional, it will not just help the administration but also make the journey from Malkangiri, Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur to Durg, Raipur, Rajnandgaon or Maharashtra shorter saving people’s time and money.
He further said due to the construction of roads and deployment of forces, the presence of Naxalites has significantly reduced.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale hit near Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur on Monday, according to the National Centre for Seismology. “Earthquake of Magnitude:6.1, Occurred on 29-08-2022, 08:59:15 IST, Lat: -0.97 & Long: 98.68, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 566km SW of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”, the National Centre for Seismology said in a statement.
The quake occurred at around 8.59 am today with the epicentre at 566 km SW of Kuala Lumpur and the depth at 10 Km. The latitude was found to be -0.97 whereas the longitude was 98.68.
Earlier, on Tuesday, an earthquake hit the waters off the southwestern coast of Sumatra island at around 9:30 pm, nearest to Bengkulu, South Sumatra and Lampung provinces. The epicentre of the quake was in the sea about 64 kilometres from shore. However, no casualties or damages were immediately reported by authorities.
Three persons, including a minor boy, have been killed and two others have gone missing in a landslide that hit Kodiyathoor in the high range region of Kerala’s Idukki district early Monday morning.
The landslide washed away the house of Soman killing his mother and son Devananad, whose bodies were found today, officials said. One more unidentified body has been recovered, officials said.
A search operation is underway for Soman his wife Shiji and their daughter has been initiated, District Disaster Management Authority said.
Water Resource Minister Roshy Agustine who’s in charge of the Idukki district said he will reach the site. Roads and crops in the area have been washed away.
Heavy rains have led to flooding in several areas in Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts.
The Met Department has issued a yellow alert from Kottayam to Kasaragod. Isolated heavy rain has been predicted in hilly regions of the state.
Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts have been directed to exercise caution.
Earlier this month also, landslides were reported at many parts of Idukki.
A heavy landslide was reported early this month in Munnar Kundala estate leading to submerging a temple and two shops completely. The landslide hit the MunnarVattavada route, after that the route was covered with debris of huge rocks and mud.
In 2020, Rajamala in the Idukki district witnessed a massive landslide in the month of August. The landslide was triggered by torrential rains, killing over 60 people.
Kerala chief minister had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to kin of the deceased and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
UK aircraft carrier, Prince of Wales, breaks down off South Coast 12
The British HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, the United Kingdom’s largest warship, broke down soon after leaving the Portsmouth port in southern England, UK media reports said.
The aircraft carrier, which was first launched in 2017, broke down shortly after setting sail from Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.
“HMS Prince of Wales remains in the South Coast Exercise Area while conducting investigations into an emerging mechanical issue,” a Royal Navy spokesperson told UK Defense Journal, which was the first to report the breakdown.
The Royal Navy is now carrying out “investigations into an emerging mechanical issue,” a spokesperson said as quoted by The Guardian.
The USD 3.5-billion, 65,000-tonne warship was on its way for a four-month deployment to the United States when it broke down and now remains in the south coast exercise area near the Isle of Wight, the newspaper said.
