Living up to his common man image, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will kickstart his Lok Sabha campaign on Wednesday by using public transport to reach out to voters, the party said on Tuesday.

After landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Kejriwal will catch an auto-rickshaw to go to Andheri station.

There, the former Delhi chief minister will take a suburban train to Churchgate and interact with commuters on board during the 40-minute ride.

Around noon, he will be at Churchgate for a formal welcome by Mumbai South Lok Sabha candidate Meera Sanyal and other party workers. He will be closeted with them for about half hour.

After a media conference, Kejriwal will take part in a two-hour road show, from the historic August Kranti Maidan to Khilafat House, an equally historic venue.

These areas fall in Mumbai South constituency from where the Sanyal, a former corporate chief, is contesting as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate.

Later, Kejriwal will proceed via the Eastern Freeway to take part in another road show in the eastern suburbs in the Mumbai North-East constituency where social activist Medha Patkar is the AAP candidate.

The Income Tax department conducted searches at 20 locations of real estate major Hiranandani group in Mumbai and other cities in connection with alleged tax evasion.

“We have conducted simultaneous searches at many locations of the group in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad,” an Income Tax source said.

Searches were also conducted at the residential premises of top company officials, the source said.

The source said some documents of accounts and transactions have been seized in the operation that was underway several hours after it started.

When contacted, a spokesperson of the Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group refused to comment on the matter.
Sources said some alleged mismatch on Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) receipts related to payments made were also being verified during the operations.

Hiranandani group is a major real estate player in Mumbai with its flagship post project located in Powai.
Recently, the group’s co-founder Niranjan Hiranandani had filed a suit against his daughter Priya seeking to restrain the usage of name ‘Hiranandani’ in her business.

Some years back, the CBI had also raided the offices and other premises of Hiranandani Builders for alleged provident fund evasion of to the tune of Rs. 168 crore.

The Bombay High Court sought to know what action has been initiated against the 89 teachers who have failed to take up their posting in primary schools in tribal areas of neighbouring Thane district.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha directed the Thane Zilla Parishad to submit a report by March 25 on what action has been taken against those teachers who have failed to take up their new posts.

The High Court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by social activist Nitin Borade highlighting the issue of non-availability of teachers in primary schools in tribal areas.

The Maharashtra government had in May last year issued orders to 244 teachers transferring them to primary schools in seven tribal areas in Thane. However, the teachers refused to take up the posting and went on strike.

The High Court had last time directed the government to ensure that its transfer order is implemented and the teachers take up their jobs.

The court was today informed that out of 244 teachers, only 155 have taken up their posts in primary schools.

The court had, during the last hearing in January this year, also directed the state government to issue advertisements for 1,000 teachers and headmasters by February 15 and initiate and complete recruitment process by June 30.

The court today asked the government to submit a report on March 25 asking if the advertisements have been issued and the process has begun.

The PIL contends that it is the duty of the state to ensure that every child is given primary education, which is a fundamental right.

The Bombay High Court suggested that the Maharashtra Government should constitute a permanent mechanism to monitor wetlands in the state so that encroachments do not take place in such areas.

The suggestion was made by a bench headed by Justice V M Kanade on a PIL filed by Vanashakti, an NGO, which alleged destruction of wetlands in suburban Malwani, Dahisar, Vasai, Esselworld, Oshiwara, Kanakia Nagar in Mira Road, Kasheli in Thane and Palm Beach Road area in Navi Mumbai.

“It is a shocking state of affairs to note that no action is being taken against those who are reclaiming land in wetland areas,” said the bench.

Government pleader G W Mattos said that the state had issued a circular warning that construction or reclamation in the areas of wetlands was strictly prohibited and warned that action would be taken against the guilty.

However, counsel for Vanashakti, Gayatri Singh, said the circular was not enough to check encroachments in wetland areas. She said there should be a permanent mechanism to monitor such areas in which wetlands fall, to which the court agreed and suggested the state to consider this aspect.

The government had told the court earlier that an authority for monitoring wetlands in the state would be constituted soon.

However, Singh argued that the state had not come out with a time-bound programme as to when such an authority would be formed.

The government pleader said Mumbai suburban areas such as Navghar, Vasai and those near Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, where wetlands were located, had been surveyed. Six other sites, where wetlands were found, are yet to be surveyed.