Bombay high court will decide whether MHADA colonies should have common cable operator

MUMBAI: Bombay high court has admitted a petition to decide whether residents of housing societies of Maharasthtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) can appoint their own cable operator.

The court granting relief to a MHADA cluster at Kurla admitted the petition taking note that another petition admitted earlier by the court dealing with an identical issue. A division bench of Justice S J Vazifdar and Justice Mridula Bhatkar on January 29, 2013 allowed four housing societies of MHADA at Kurla to appoint their own cable service provider.

The societies moved court after MHADA on August 6, 2012 forcibly attempted to disconnect their cable connections with police protection. Their petition said despite having appointed their own cable operator, the estate manager -III said they will have to use the services of a rival cable operator for television and internet services

The societies learnt that MHADA wants implement its 2002 policy to invite tenders from various cable operators for areas where their buildings are situated. If such policies are allowed it will be more harmful than to the benefit of petitioner's society and the respondent (MHADA) thereafter will come out with their own milkman, newspaper vendor etc,'' said their petition. The petition said HC in July 2009 had admitted a petition by a housing society challenging the policy and had directed MHADA not to implement the policy. Stating that MHADA is violating their fundamental right, these societies urged the court to quash and set aside the policy.

MHADA advocate P G Lad defended the decision and pointed out that MHADA is the owner of the land. Admitting the petition, the judges directed that the petitioner-societies will be at liberty to enter into agreement with a cable operator of their choice.

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web exclusive report - PIL seeks relief for Sindhi camps in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: A public interest litigation filed in the Bombay high court has sought direction to the State government to regularise unauthorised constructions in Sindhi refugee colonies across Mumbai.

The petition by Mohammad Kasim Abdul Gafoor Khan which was mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Anoop Mohta is posted for hearing on March 7, 2013. In his petition, Khan has sought urged for regularisation of unauthorised constructions in refugees camps including those at Kurla, Sion-Koliwada, Mulund and Chembur.

His petition said persons displaced from Pakistan after partition were rehabilitated in these colonies. However over the years their population has increased manifold. This resulted illegal additions to existing homes. The petition said in January 2006 the State government had issued an ordinance regularising unauthorised constructions in Ulhasnagar . It urged that similar relief be given to residents of Sindhi refugee colonies in Mumbai.

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PIL seeks relief for Sindhi camps in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A public interest litigation filed in the Bombay high court has sought direction to the State government to regularise unauthorised constructions in Sindhi refugee colonies across Mumbai.

The petition by Mohammad Kasim Abdul Gafoor Khan which was mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Anoop Mohta is posted for hearing on March 7, 2013. In his petition, Khan has sought urged for regularisation of unauthorised constructions in refugees camps including those at Kurla, Sion-Koliwada, Mulund and Chembur.

His petition said persons displaced from Pakistan after partition were rehabilitated in these colonies. However over the years their population has increased manifold. This resulted illegal additions to existing homes. The petition said in January 2006 the State government had issued an ordinance regularising unauthorised constructions in Ulhasnagar . It urged that similar relief be given to residents of Sindhi refugee colonies in Mumbai.

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High court to hear public interest litigation for recovery of losses following Azad Maidan riots

MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Monday will hear a public interest litigation seeking direction to the State to recover losses due to damage of public and private property in the Azad Maidan last year.

The PIL filed by journalists Sanket Satope and Uday Joshi, through their advocate Sanjiv Punalekar, is posted for hearing on February 18, 2013 before a division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice K K Tated. The PIL seeks to raise the issue of total and utter failure '' of the State government and the police commissioner in initiating measures to recover losses and damages from persons and organisers who have caused huge loss to public and private properties on August 11, 2012. It has also questioned why the role of police officers -additional commissioner of police (South ) Krishna Prakash and retired assistant commissioner of police - Shamsher Khan Pathan , who were on the dais, is not probed.

It urged the court to intervene in public interest to restore people's faith in the system saying it is necessary in an unprecedented situation of a riot and violence of such magnitude which has completely shattered the faith and confidence of law abiding citizens and even of policemen.''

The petition said while the police claim to have received clues of invisible hand, the role of influential persons and organisations is being underplayed. About Prakash, the petition said he is a common factor for riots whether at Miraj or in Mumbai.'' Also that inflammatory speeches were made in his presence at Azad Maidan but no efforts were made to investigate his role. It added that Pathan was not investigated with particular reference to providing inside information about the police to the rioters.''

The petitioners alleged that the State is following double standards'' in dealing with Raza Academy and other organisers of the event on August 11, 2012. The petitioners urged direction to police to expeditiously complete its inquiry and necessary proceedings for recovery of losses.

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Railway stalls civic body's sewage disposal project

MUMBAI: The municipal corporation's multi-crore sewage disposal project has been halted at Chunabhatti railway station for the last two months. In December 2012, the Central Railway stalled the laying of sewage line under the railway tracks at Chunabhatti saying no permission was taken for the work. They also took action under the Railway Security Act and arrested two workers, who were later let off after paying a fine.Rahul Shewale, civic standing committee chairman, said: "The railway authorities had given permission to lay the sewerage line, but the railway safety board had taken objection."

As a part of the sewage disposal project, the BMC had undertaken work of laying an underground line along the Sion-Kurla railway tracks using micro-tunnelling technology. The railway authorities seized the machine used for the micro-tunnelling work due to which the work has halted.The railway authorities are yet to green light the project. "We are in discussion with the railway officials for getting the requisite permissions," said a senior official from the civic sewage department.

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Unseasonal rain spoils crop

MUMBAI: Farmers across the state who have been struggling to save their crop due to the drought have now been served a double whammy. For the past few days unseasonal rains have been lashing parts of the state that has destroyed whatever crops that had been salvaged from the drought.

Unseasonal rains accompanied by heavy winds have hit Kholapur and Sangli on Saturday, other part of the state too have received similar rains for instance yesterday parts of Parbhani, Buldhana and Yavatmal received the freakish rain that led to crops of cotton, wheat, jowar, grapes, pomegranate, mango and oranges being destroyed by the unseasonal rains in these areas. Not just crops even the fodder that was stored outside by the farmers have been completely ruined by the rains.

Earlier this week rains had rained in Akola, Jalgaon and Nashik farmers in Nashik have said that the onion crop has been destroyed due to the rains.

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Whistleblower arrested for extortion

MUMBAI: Dattaram Pedamkar, who complained of a slum redevelopment project coming up on a plot owned by Nehru Science Centre, was arrested last week by the Tardeo police on charges of extortion. Pedamkar (45), a resident of Mariamma Nagar in Worli, allegedly demanded Rs 20,000 from a Haji Ali hawker Iqbal Shaikh.

Pedamkar was produced before the 4th Girgaum metropolitan magistrate and remanded in police custody till February 9. But in the court, Shaikh filed an affidavit, saying he never made any allegations against Pedamkar.

"Shaikh is an illiterate man. Tardeo police misled him into signing a complaint. We have brought this to the notice of the court but when the latter did not take any cognizance, we filed a writ petition in the high court, saying police registered a bogus case against my client,'' said Pedamkar's advocate Yusuf Khan.

Senior inspector of Tardeo police Ajinder Thakur said, "I don't know why Shaikh retracted the complaint. We filed the FIR on the basis of his complaint in November. Shaikh may be under pressure to withdraw the complaint.''

Cops alleged that Pedamkar is an extortionist as there are cases against him. But his lawyer alleged that he has been framed because he filed a complaint against a senior officer in the SRA project.

In January, Pedamkar had lodged a complaint in court against former SRA chief Debashish Chakraborty, builder Akshay Sthapatya, his architect Pravin Naik and six others, including SRA officers who had approved the Mariamma Nagar slum scheme, adjoining the National Sports Complex. Pedamkar said he learned of this when the Nehru Science Centre, in response to his query under the Right to Information Act in 2011, said they had not granted any no-objection certificate. They have been charged with cheating, forgery, breach of trust and projecting false documents as true.

Pravin Naik said Nehru Centre owns the plot. "There was a consent term between Nehru Centre and Akshay Sthapatya to construct a building on the corner of the plot measuring 2233.76 sq m. "Accordingly, construction plan was approved by SRA in which 15% of the area was agreed to be given to Nehru Centre, so all Pedamkar's allegations are false. Nehru Centre has given NOC for the SRA project.''

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Maharashtra MPs will push for uniform TV cable operators

MUMBAI: In order to regulate exorbitant charges levied by cable operators on subscribers, the Maharashtra government has asked the Centre to fix a maximum retail price (MRP) for the industry across the country. At present, there are no uniform rates for cable connections.

"Cable operators arbitrarily levy service charge on consumers. There is no MRP provision for the industry that provides cable connection. To control the monthly cost of cable TV and bring uniformity in the rate of connections throughout the country, the state government has urged the Centre to amend the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act," a senior government official said.

According to the cable operators' association, there are over 30 lakh subscribers in Mumbai. Of these, nearly 20 lakh have digitalized cable connections, while the rest get signals through the dish installed at their respective places.

Anil Parab, president of the Cable Operators' and Distribution Association, has welcomed the government's initiative to have uniform rates and MRP for cable connections. "The only thing the industry expects from the government is that it be taken into confidence while deciding the price limit for each cable connection," Parab added.

"The state government has sent the proposal to the Centre for having an upper limit on the monthly cable charges that operators can levy on subscribers. The proposal tabled before the Union ministry of information and broadcasting has been forwarded to the ministry of home affairs. To get the law amended and bring respite to lakhs of cable subscribers in the country, MPs from Maharashtra cutting across party lines should pursue the issue in parliament," the official added.

Every year before the Union budget session, the state government prepares a manual highlighting the issues that Maharashtra MPs need to pursue with the Centre. The CM holds a meeting with MPs to discuss issues mentioned in the manual. Following the tradition, CM Prithviraj Chavan too held a meeting with MPs on Thursday and circulated the manual to them. The manual mentions the cable issue that needs to be discussed in Delhi.

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Maharashtra MPs will push for uniform TV cable operators

MUMBAI: In order to regulate exorbitant charges levied by cable operators on subscribers, the Maharashtra government has asked the Centre to fix a maximum retail price (MRP) for the industry across the country. At present, there are no uniform rates for cable connections.

"Cable operators arbitrarily levy service charge on consumers. There is no MRP provision for the industry that provides cable connection. To control the monthly cost of cable TV and bring uniformity in the rate of connections throughout the country, the state government has urged the Centre to amend the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act," a senior government official said.

According to the cable operators' association, there are over 30 lakh subscribers in Mumbai. Of these, nearly 20 lakh have digitalized cable connections, while the rest get signals through the dish installed at their respective places.

Anil Parab, president of the Cable Operators' and Distribution Association, has welcomed the government's initiative to have uniform rates and MRP for cable connections. "The only thing the industry expects from the government is that it be taken into confidence while deciding the price limit for each cable connection," Parab added.

"The state government has sent the proposal to the Centre for having an upper limit on the monthly cable charges that operators can levy on subscribers. The proposal tabled before the Union ministry of information and broadcasting has been forwarded to the ministry of home affairs. To get the law amended and bring respite to lakhs of cable subscribers in the country, MPs from Maharashtra cutting across party lines should pursue the issue in parliament," the official added.

Every year before the Union budget session, the state government prepares a manual highlighting the issues that Maharashtra MPs need to pursue with the Centre. The CM holds a meeting with MPs to discuss issues mentioned in the manual. Following the tradition, CM Prithviraj Chavan too held a meeting with MPs on Thursday and circulated the manual to them. The manual mentions the cable issue that needs to be discussed in Delhi.

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Two injured in bike accident

MUMBAI: Two persons were severely injured after they lost control on the bike and dashed into a Mercedez and an innova. The bike later hit the divider near Pydhonie on the jj flyover.

The injured were Akash Valmiki and Naresh Naik both 21-year-old. They were admitted jj hospital. The police said that the victims took the JJ Flyover from CST-Byculla at around 5 pm on Thursday and were headed towards Naigaon, where the duo reside. Valmiki was kept under intensive care unit while Naik who was a pillion rider was declared out of danger by the doctors . The rider was not wearing a helmet.

Police said that the duo were coming from CST towards Byculla. "They were going to Naigaon where they reside. However, they were driving on a high speed and lost control over the bike. Motorists are not allowed on this flyover. After several people died in accidents, the bridge was restricted only for four wheelers," said a police officer. Pydhonie police are probing the case.

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