Maharashtra Government

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased in the Akola Babuji Maharaj temple incident

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Sunday asked the Maharashtra government to help the orange and sweet lime growers affected by unseasonal rains and cotton farmers who were not getting the right price for their produce. Former Maharashtra minister Deshmukh was addressing a press conference in Nagpur to inform about the 'Vajramuth' rally of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which comprises the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), to be held here on April 16. To a query on unseasonal rains in Vidarbha and other parts of Maharashtra over the last few days and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis currentlty on a visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Deshmukh said while the farmers are facing trouble, the CM, his deputy and other government leaders have gone for "dev darshan" (to seek blessings of God). "It is not wrong, one can go for 'dev darshan', but the problems faced by farmers should not be ignored. In such times, the government should be ..

Mumbai Police have registered a case against rapper Umesh Khade for his song allegedly against government and the administrative system, an official said on Sunday. With this, the Maharashtra Police have registered cases against two different rappers in a week for allegedly targeting the government. In the latest case, a complaint was filed by an official of the Mumbai Police's Crime Intelligence Unit. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered on Friday against rapper Umesh Khade, who stays in Wadala area of Mumbai, for his song "Bhongli keli janata" (referring to sufferings faced by people), the official said. Khade had uploaded the song on a social media platform having the account name Shambho, and the song went viral, he said. The case was registered against Khade under Sections 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 67 (publishing or ...

Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Friday said the state government should look into the COVID-19 situation immediately, as cases have been on the rise and apprise citizens. As per the state health department, Maharashtra had on Thursday recorded 803 fresh coronavirus cases and three fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 81,47,673, which includes 1,48,454 deaths. "During the recently concluded Assembly sessions, we had asked the state government about measures it was taking and the line of action it had decided to enable people's representatives to go back to their constituencies and work on dealing with the COVID-19 situation by taking officials into confidence," Pawar told reporters in Pune. During the Maha Vikas Aghadi rule, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government had been united in its fight against coronavirus. Expressing concern, Pawar said that while the number of infections was increasing by the day, no one seemed to be taking the situation seriously. "

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday called Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis a "failed" home minister while claiming the law and order situation in the state was bad and farmers were committing suicide. An editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not even giving a warning to China after it changed the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. Pakistan is being issued hollow threats, but what about China which has made "incursion" in the Indian territory, it said. Earlier this week, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray dubbed Fadnavis a worthless home minister after a woman worker from the Thackeray-led faction was allegedly attacked by activists of rival Shiv Sena in Thane. Fadnavis had then hit back saying he was a "bullet" (kartoos), while Thackeray was a weak chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and need not be given importance. Notably, the Supreme Court recently made strong

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the incident of a mob allegedly attacking police personnel in Aurangabad city, now named Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, was unfortunate and appealed to leaders to avoid making provocative statements and giving political colour to it. A mob of more than 500 people allegedly attacked policemen on Wednesday night after some youth clashed among themselves. The incident, which lasted around an hour, took place in Kiradpura locality, which has a famous Ram temple where a huge crowd is expected to celebrate the Ram Navami on Thursday, police officials said. Speaking at his residence in Nagpur on the violence, Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said, "The incident that happened in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is very unfortunate and efforts are on to maintain peace in the area. However, some people are trying to vitiate the atmosphere there by giving provocative statements." "I feel that political leaders should know ho

Maharashtra government employees agitating for restoration of the old pension scheme on Monday called off a week-long strike after a successful meeting between their representatives and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over key demand, a union leader said. Vishwas Katkar, the striking unions coordination committee's convenor, said the state government has 'in principle' agreed to extend monetary benefits equivalent to the OPS to employees who are part of the New Pension System (NPS). The government employees were on an indefinite strike since March 14 demanding restoration of the OPS, which was discontinued in 2005.

The Supreme Court Monday agreed to list for hearing pleas seeking a CBI probe into the alleged lynching of three people in Palghar district in April 2020, after it was apprised that the Maharashtra government has consented to the investigation by the agency. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala was told by a lawyer appearing for one of the petitioners that the state government has also agreed for a CBI inquiry. The lawyer mentioned the matter saying the case can be heard and disposed of on any Friday or Monday. "We'll list it," the bench said. Earlier, in a change of stance, the Maharashtra government had told the Supreme Court it was ready to hand over to the CBI the investigation into the alleged lynching of three people, including two seers. The state government had earlier told the apex court that the Maharashtra Police has punished delinquent policemen for dereliction of duties in the alleged lynching incident and sought dismissal

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The Maharashtra government has accepted most of the demands made by farmers who are marching from Nashik to Mumbai and onion cultivators will be given financial relief of Rs 350 a quintal, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the state Assembly on Friday and urged the protesters to end their nearly week-long stir. Earlier in the day, representatives of the agitating farmers and tribals said their 200km 'long march' has been halted for now, but they will resume their walk to Mumbai if the state government does not come out with concrete steps to address their demands. The foot march by thousands of farmers and tribals, which started from Dindori town in Nashik district in North Maharashtra on Sunday last, has reached Vasind town, around 80km from Mumbai The chief minister informed the House that he had held discussions with a farmers' delegation over 14 points, including forest rights, encroachment of forest land, transfer of land belonging to temple trusts and grazing grounds to ...

The Maharashtra government on Friday decided to give the option to avail one-time ex gratia or family pension to its employees in case of their death while in service. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde here, official sources said. At present, under the National Pension System (NPS), there is a provision of ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of a state government employee in case of death while in service. The sources said if the option of family pension is availed, ex gratia payment will be scrapped. The cabinet decision has come at a time when state government employees are on an indefinite strike since March 14 seeking restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which under a staffer gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent his/her last drawn salary. The contribution-based NPS was launched in January 2004.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday was irked with the Maharashtra government's persistent stand that the reservation benefits given to orphans cannot be extended to abandoned children. The state should instead be working as a protective umbrella for such kids, it said. The state government offers one per cent reservation in education to orphaned children. However, it refused to extend such a benefit to children who have been abandoned by their parents as they are not orphaned as per the definition of the term. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale had taken up the issue after a petition was filed by a city-based NGO seeking reservation for two girls, abandoned by their parents. After being slammed by the court, the government had agreed to provide orphan certificates to the two girls so that they could seek reservation but had clarified that its stand was that there was a difference between orphaned and abandoned children. Irked with this stand, the court said

Lakhs of Maharashtra government employees on Wednesday continued their strike on the second day to demand the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), a day after Chief minister Eknath Shinde appealed to them to resume work. Smooth functioning in government hospitals and offices was affected due to the agitation. Vishwas Katkar, the convenor of the committee of nearly 35 state government employees, semi-government employees and teachers, said employees from 36 districts have joined the ongoing strike. He rejected Shinde's appeal made in the Assembly on Tuesday and insisted that their demands be met. On Monday, Shinde had also announced a panel comprising senior bureaucrats to look into the demand of state government employees to revert to the Old Pension Scheme. The panel will give its report in a time-bound manner, he said. Katkar said the state government employees held similar protests in 2018, following which a panel was formed but there was no movement on its report. The .

The Maharashtra government on Monday announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 300 per quintal to onion farmers in the state who are severely affected by a steep fall in the prices. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced this decision in the state Legislative Assembly and said it will provide relief to onion growers. Prices of the kitchen staple have crashed in Maharashtra, resulting in farmers getting very little for their produce. Shinde said due to the rise in onion production, the price of the crop has seen a decline. He said onion is a very important crop in the state and this has become a sensitive issue.

Sweden India Business Council has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government for cooperation in the area of waste to energy, sustainable infrastructure and transportation, defence manufacturing and investment, the industry body said on Sunday. The MoU was signed on Saturday evening in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "Maharashtra is the 'Second Home' to Swedish companies and 'Power House' of India. The relation between Maharashtra and Sweden is now 100 years old and we pledge to make it stronger ahead. Looking forward to work together in innovation, manufacturing, technology, solar energy, green and clean energies," Fadnavis tweeted after signing of the MoU. The MoU was signed between Sweden India Business Council (SIBC) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). "Swedish industry will continue to expand and invest in Maharashtra. This MoU intends to support the two parties to reach a deeper collaboration

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that the State Government is putting efforts to promote ground water conservation.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the state government will ensure the proposed hike in electricity tariffs is not irrational. Fadnavis, who holds the power portfolio in the Eknath Shinde government, was speaking in the Legislative Council. "The tariff hike is proposed because of the rising cost of coal and other factors that are unavoidable. Our government will not impose any extra charge on consumers. If required, our government will intervene to ensure Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) does not increase power tariffs irrationally," he said. "There is going to be some hike in power rates because of factors such as import costs, transportation, wages etc. We will ensure the hike is linked with the increased input cost for power generation, he added. Sources said the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd has proposed 14 per cent hike in power tariff. Fadnavis said the MERC never accepts a hike proposal as it is

"How much can you trust upon them? Assurances were given by the previous government during 2014-2019. How many of them were fulfilled," said Aaditya Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the state Budget, which is to be presented on Thursday, will fulfil the needs and aspirations of women and the middle class across the state."I can tell you that we will look to fulfil the needs and aspirations of women & the middle class." Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said."Tomorrow (Thursday) is our first Budget. We'll be fulfilling our promises tomorrow. Everyone is anticipating what the Budget will hold for them," he added.On the Budget, which will be the first to be presented by the Shiv Sena-BJP government since the change of guard in the state last year, Shinde said the government will keep its promises to the people.Speaking at an event at Mumbai's iconic Gateway of India on Wednesday, the CM also extended best wishes to women on International Women's Day. He said, "Today, we honoured women who work for the country in the cities and villages. Today is a day for our women, sisters and mothers."Shinde said the ...

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday urged the state government to come forward to support and compensate the farmers.Addressing the media, Pawar said, "Maharashtra's farmers have suffered a lot in the past three days due to unseasonal rains. We'll raise the issue of compensation to farmers in Assembly today. Today, the state government (Shinde-led government) must come forward to support and compensate the farmers.""We have given adjournment notice in the Assembly on the issue of compensation to the farmers, the Maharashtra LoP further said. "There was a forecast of rain for these 3 days everywhere. Now, the government should focus on ensuring the materialisation of the farm insurance claims," he added.On February 28, the Maharashtra Legislative Council was adjourned after opposition legislators created a ruckus on the issue of farmers demanding an appropriate price for onions as prices dipped.The Opposition leader of the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve