Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the proposed Metro 3 car shed project at Aarey Colony has been temporarily put on hold and a committee has been set up on shifting the project away from the colony.

The government has also proposed three alternate locations to relocate the project from Aarey colony, city’s green belt.

Fadnavis, while replying to a query during the Question Hour, informed the Legislative Council that a total of 2,298 trees will have to be felled for the proposed car shed, of which 2,044 trees will be replanted.

“The Tree Authority has suggested that of 2,044, 800 trees can be planted in the same area and the rest somewhere else. Remaining, 254 trees cannot be planted,” Fadnavis informed the House.

He, however, conceded that people residing in the area are against the construction of the Metro car shed and said that all efforts are being made to shift the project to a more suitable place.

“I’m aware of people’s sentiments. They do not want green spaces to be hacked. Respecting people’s sentiments, we have constituted a committee that is seeing if this project can be shifted somewhere else. We will take a final decision based on their report,” Fadnavis said.

“We have even proposed three alternate places for this project and the committee has also been asked to suggest more suitable places,” he said.

Fadnavis also said no decision regarding not requiring to take forest department’s permission to undertake infrastructure projects can be taken by the government.

PTI

Mumbai: A local court today remanded in police custody the police constable in connection with the recovery of 12 kilograms of mephedrone drug from his cupboard inside his police station in the city.

“The accused constable Dharmaraj Kalokhe has been remanded in police custody till April 1,” public prosecutor Wajid Sheikh said.
Sheikh said that the police sought his custody on the ground that they want to know from where he sourced the drug and who were the intended recipients.

“We also sought his custody saying that we want to unearth the entire nexus of the cartel,” Sheikh told PTI.

Meanwhile, Kalokhe’s lawyer told the court that there was a possibility of the accused being tortured in the custody to shield a senior IPS officer and some Customs officials who were also involved in the case.

Kalokhe’s lawyer also moved an application saying that the accused should be interrogated in the presence of his lawyers and also be allowed to speak to them. Sheikh said that the application will be heard on March 27.

Head Constable Kalokhe, posted at Marine Drive police station, was arrested on March 9 after 110 kg of mephedrone drug, whose market value police claim runs into crores of rupees, was seized from his residence in a village under Khandala taluka in Satara district.

The next day, 12 kg of mephedrone was seized from Kalokhe’s locked cupboard at the Marine Drive police station here, along with Rs 30,000 cash.

The procedure to dismiss the constable from service is also underway.

An FIR was registered against Kalokhe at Marine Drive police station under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. One kg of mephedrone, popularly known as meow-meow and M-Cat, costs Rs 20 lakh.

PTI

Mumbai: In a bid to attract foreign tourists, Maharashtra government today announced year 2017 as “Visit Maharashtra” year along with organisation of ‘international travel mart’ in September this year.

We are also trying to host the meeting of SAARC tourism ministers in the state,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds Tourism portfolio, told the Legislative Assembly in the reply to a debate on the budgetary demands of the department.

Fadnavis said a ‘single window scheme’ would be created for the hospitality industry and number of permissions would be drastically cut down from about 140 to 20.

The draft is being prepared and all departments would be taken on board before finalising it, he said.

Fadnavis told the House that a new tourism policy would be unveiled soon and that Aurangabad will be declared as a tourism district.

He said tourism in the state will be developed through a transparent public-private-partnership (PPP) model and an integrated tourism development plan for Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will be submitted for inclusion in the Central government’s coastal tourism project.

Plans are also afoot to develop sea forts in Konkan region, he added. Fadnavis said his government would aggressively market the tourism sector and strive to develop Maharashtra as a tourism brand.

A proposal to declare the Lonar crater in Buldhana district as a mega destination project is being prepared. Similarly, the Nagpur-Bhandara-Chandrapur area would be developed for lake tourism, the chief minister said.

He said the sea world project in Sindhudurg district in Konkan and the phase-III of Ajantha-Ellora preservation project will be vigorously pursued.

PTI

Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav’s son Shailesh Yadav, who was wanted in connection with the MPPEB scam, reportedly died of brain hemorrhage in Lucknow on Wednesday morning.
Both the Governor and his son are accused in the scam that broke nearly two years ago and involves several other accused from Uttar Pradesh.

While the Governor had challenged the FIR against him, his son was on the run and notices issued to him by the Special Investigation Team (STF) could not be served over last several weeks since his name appeared in a supplementary chargesheet filed in a local court. The Raj Bhavan in Bhopal had refused to accept a notice saying Shailesh did not live there.
READ: Governor named in exam scam, Centre asks him to step down
The investigating agency was reportedly preparing grounds to attach the properties owned by Shailesh in UP. Veerpal Singh, an accused arrested in November 2014, had alleged that Rs 3 lakh in cash was given to Shailesh in Raj Bhavan to ensure that 10 candidates from Bhind cleared the examination for contractual teachers. None of the 10 candidates were eventually appointed because they did not hold a diploma or a degree in education.
Madhya Pradesh’s octogenarian governor was admitted to a hospital in Bhopal a few days ago. Calling Shailesh’s death suspicious, the Opposition Congress has demanded a probe.