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MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday asserted that it would not allow any illegality in any building, while coming down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for turning a blind eye to what it said were glaring violations in Willingdon View, a high-rise in Tardeo. "This is going to be an example for all buildings and high-rises," said a division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor, days after observing that the upper 18 floors of the 34-storey building were occupied illegally as they don't have an occupancy certificate (OC). The court on June 30 had also flagged other violations related to fire safety regulations and unauthorised changes to approved building plans. Remarking that such situations seem to be out of the BMC's control, the court on Thursday questioned the civic body's intent, saying, "Whether this issue be taken up casually by the corporation? Whether these people continue to reside in the building? These are the most important questions." The court also reiterated that if the authorities fail to highlight the steps it would take to curtail such cases, it will assume that the BMC is allowing people to live in the building without an OC, putting their lives at risk. In its closing remarks on Thursday, the bench said that it will approach the matter objectively, as mandated by the law. "We will not allow any illegality in any building," it said. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on July 10, after the BMC requested more time to file certain clarifications requested by the court. The civic body has been asked to clarify if the high-rise had a valid OC or partial OC, and what action it proposed to take if it found that the building was occupied illegally. On June 30, the court had noted that Willingdon View only had a partial OC for the ground-plus-16 floors, but all storeys in the building were occupied. It also observed that the high-rise did not have a fire no-objection certificate (NOC) -- a document confirming that adequate fire prevention and protection measures are in place. "We are of the clear opinion that those flat purchasers who are occupying flats from 17 to 34 floors, which have no occupancy certificate, are illegally occupying these flats," the bench had said. "They are required to consider their position." The court has also directed the BMC to clarify its stand on certain allegedly illegal additions and changes made to the approved building plans. It said that some of the unauthorised changes were very serious in nature, like removing part of the slab between the 26th and 27th floors to convert the flats on the two floors into a duplex apartment. The court is hearing a bunch of petitions concerning Willingdon View Cooperative Housing Society in Tardeo, constructed by Satellite Holdings. Construction of the building commenced in 1990, and flat owners started occupying their respective premises in 2008. As of now, 50 of the 62 flats in the high-rise are occupied.
Mumbai: After the Supreme Court decides to remove stray dogs from the streets of Delhi, people doubt if the reciprocation would be seen in other places, including Mumbai. In a recent report, the civic authorities have mandated relevant departments to address stray dog complaints at least thrice weekly. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported 10,778 complaints about stray dogs in relation to road safety and risk of rabbies. To enhance response times, authorities have directed regular reviews of complaints, aiding efficient tracking and quicker intervention. According to a report ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
Amritsar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey from Jharkhand has claimed that Britain assisted India in executing the 1984 Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, stoking a new controversy.In a post on X on Monday, Dubey alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi "launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain", with British Army officers present in Amritsar.He uploaded a classified British document, "Sikh Community", claiming that on Feb 23, 1984, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office mentioned in a letter that the Indian govt had sought British advice over a plan to remove Si ...Read More >
Mumbai: On the morning of October 26, a fire broke at Kandivali West's Agarwal Residency, where eight people were rescued. The fire broke out on the second floor of the sixteen-storey residential building in the Shankar Lane area of Kandivali West. As the information about the fire was received, the firefighters reached the spot quickly and doused the fire within 20 minutes times. Eight residents were rescued from the incident of which two were men, three women, and three children, including a 3 ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], December 15 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to senior journalist Mahesh Langa in connection with an alleged fraud case amounting to Rs 7 crores initiated by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has requested the trial court to conduct the trial proceedings in the matter on a day-to-day basis and examine all nine witnesses without granting adjournments merely because an application seeking quashing of the case is pending bef ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar, June 30 (UNI) The Commissionerate Police today arrested three individuals, including a BJP corporator, for assaulting Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahu inside the corporation office. The incident sparked widespread resentment among BMC employees, who, along with several BJD corporators and leaders, staged a road blockade on the busy Bani Vihar-Master Canteen stretch in the evening. The protest brought vehicular movement to a standstill for several hours, causing severe inconvenience to commuters. Police later removed the protesters, i ...Read More >
Mumbai: Ports minister Nitesh Rane said the Radio Club jetty project will be taken forward as per Bombay High Court orders. Nearly 20% of the jetty work has already been completed and the facility will become operational by May next year, Rane told reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises."The proposed Radio Club Jetty project near Mumbai's Gateway of India received the green light from the Bombay High Court. The court dismissed all three petitions filed against the project and issued clear direct ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravada A Chandrasekhar took charge as the new State Police Chief on Tuesday. He succeeds Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on June 30. His tenure will run until July 1, 2027. A 1991-batch IPS officer currently serving as Special Director with the Intelligence Bureau, Chandrasekhar is on central deputation. He was selected over Nitin Agarwal, who topped the official list of probables. The appointment order, issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak on behalf of the Governor, was released soon after a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Godav ...Read More >
New Delhi: Traffic in central Delhi will be affected on Thursday as the traffic police has issued an advisory due to the Janmashtami and Tazia processions.According to police, the traffic movement in Paharganj is likely to be affected from 1.30pm in view of the shobha yatra for Janmashtami and the Tazia procession.The Janmashtami procession will start from Mandir Shri Banke Bihari Ji in Paharganj's Sangatrasan Bazar and pass through Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, Chuna Mandi, Main Bazar, Munja Chowk and Arakashan Road. The Tazia procession will start from Ajmeri Gate and proceed through Pul Paharganj ...Read More >
Bengaluru: For millions of people, the sudden, sharp pain of tooth due to sensitivity can turn a sip of cold water into a jolt. Now, researchers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Theranautilus, have engineered "CalBots" - magnetic nanobots that can seal the problem at its source.As per IISc, CalBots are 400-nanometre particles loaded with a calcium silicate-based bioceramic formula, designed to travel 500 micrometres deep inside dentinal tubules, the tiny tunnels in the tooth that lead to nerve endings. Guided by an external magnetic ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has ramped up its efforts to remove abandoned, unusable and scrap vehicles -- commonly called khataras -- from the city's streets. As of August 12, civic officials have identified 4,325 such vehicles across Mumbai, including the island city and the eastern and western suburbs. (SEE BOX) To reclaim road space and improve traffic flow, the BMC has issued legal notices to 3,153 vehicle owners under section 314 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 (amended), directing them to remove their khataras within 72 hours. Of the total identif ...Read More >
Mumbai, December 15: The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced the long-pending elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with polling scheduled for January 15 and counting on January 16. The announcement comes in compliance with a Supreme Court directive mandating that civic body elections be held before January 31. Addressing a press conference, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, accompanied by SEC Secretary Suresh Kakani, said the poll programme has been finalised to ensur ...Read More >
Mumbai: The State Election Commission (SEC) of Maharashtra on Monday announced the long-awaited election schedule for 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the high-profile Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as Thane and Navi Mumbai. Polling for all 29 civic bodies will be held on January 15, 2026, followed by the counting of votes on January 16, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said while addressing a press conference in Mumbai. With the announcement of the programme, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in all the concer ...Read More >
The exchange between Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has reignited debate over Bengaluru's infrastructure crisis. Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has responded sharply to Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar's remarks suggesting she had a "personal agenda" in criticising Bengaluru's crumbling infrastructure. Shivakumar, while leading his "Bengaluru Nadige" walk in KR Puram on Sunday, questioned why Shaw had not spoken up du ...Read More >
Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections is set for January 15, 2026. Counting of votes will take place on January 16. This announcement formally begins the process for the long-awaited civic polls in Maharashtra. Candidates can file nominations from December 23 to December 30, 2025. The schedule covers elections for the BMC and other municipal corporations across the state. Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will be held on January 15, 2026, wit ...Read More >
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to miss its revenue target for the 2025-26 financial year by a wide margin, raising concerns over the city's financial health. Against a total target of Rs 700 crore, the corporation has collected only Rs 536 crore so far, leaving a gap of nearly Rs 164 crore with just one day remaining. The corporation had projected Rs 410 crore from property tax, but has managed to collect only about Rs 270 crore as of March 30. This is only a slight improvement over last year's Rs 258 crore, despite claims of a 20% increase in collecti ...Read More >
Mumbai: Upset by the city police's alleged pressure to remove loudspeakers from mosques, some mosques in the city have found a solution through the introduction of a dedicated mobile Azaan app to relay call to prayers five times a day, directly to the worshippers.Globally, Muslim citizens, including those in the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE, use Azaan apps to get notification for Azaan time for the masjid located in specific areas.Developed by a group of volunteers in Tamil Nadu , the online azaan app has been in use in TN for over three years. "Most people go out to work and their place o ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The US embassy in India has warned that "committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States won't just cause you legal issues -- it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future US visas". The warning was issued days after a video of an Indian woman who tried to leave a store with a cart full of items without paying went viral. This also prompted the embassy to say, "The US values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws."Responding to queries on the issue, the ministry of external affairs said that "whether a person is liv ...Read More >
VMPL New Delhi [India], August 14: Ellenox, India's largest venture studio, is accelerating its global push in enterprise AI development. In the past year, the company has grown its headcount by 50% over the last year, bringing in senior AI talent from Amazon and Google to power its next phase of expansion. Already delivering AI transformation for Fortune 50 leaders in fintech, cloud computing, consumer social, and sports-tech, Ellenox has built systems that replace costly call centers with natural-voice AI agents and deployed end-to-end social media pipelines capable of scaling global brand ...Read More >
WITH THE monsoon season nearing end, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to resume works on its ambitious mega concretisation project from October 1 with senior officials stating that work on the partially completed roads -- spanning 574 roads or 156.74 km -- will be taken up immediately. In a staggered manner, the civic body will also take up fresh roads where no concretisation work has commenced. On Tuesday, the BMC launched its 'Concretisation of Roads' public dashboard which ...Read More >
Kochi, Dec 1 (PTI) The son of a Bengaluru native, whose suspected body was found in a forested area near the HMT premises here, alleged on Monday that his father's death was due to the negligence of Ernakulam Government Medical College authorities. The Kerala High Court sought a report from the police. Santon told reporters that Suraj Lama (59), who suffered from memory loss, would not have died had they not discharged him. Lama, who ran a restaurant in Kuwait, reportedly developed memory impairment following methanol poisoning and was deported in early October. He arrived at Kochi airport ...Read More >
The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has urged property owners to clear their dues within the next three days, with March 31 marking the deadline for property tax payment for the current financial year, officials said. Civic officials said that once the new financial year begins, an interest of 18% per annum will be levied on pending dues, significantly increasing the financial burden on defaulters. Property owners who have not yet paid their taxes have been advised to do so before the de ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) Maharashtra Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday presented supplementary demands worth Rs 57,509.71 crore for the financial year 2025-26 on the first day of the Monsoon Session of the Legislature. This comes amid reported constraints over the availability of adequate funds due to the ballooning fiscal and revenue deficits and mounting public debt. Of the Rs 57,509.71 crore, the allocation of Rs 19,183.85 crore has been made for committed expenditure and the balance is to provide funds for various government programmes and also towar ...Read More >
Mumbai, March 31: The BMC has collected record-breaking property tax for the financial year 2025-26 of Rs 7,534 crore as of 8.30 pm on March 31, surpassing its target of Rs 7,341 crore. The percentage of tax collection comes to 102% of the revised target. The deadline for paying the property tax online was 12 am midnight on March 31, and the corporation expects the percentage to increase. BMC surpasses revised target The BMC was confident of achieving 100% property tax collection for March 2026, with 94.12% of its target realised till March 30. "However, with effective public awareness camp ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the 2009 decision of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to increase the licence fees for outdoor advertisements such as hoardings and sky-signs by 10% every year. The division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Akhand dismissed a petition filed by an advertising firm, Rushabh Outdoors, which had challenged the 2009 decision, claiming it violated their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 (right to equality) and 19 (right to a profession) of the Constitution of India. The BMC had, in December 2009, ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering probe into Tamil Nadu's state-run liquor corporation, TASMAC, expressing strong disapproval of what it described as overreach by the central agency. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih criticised the ED for "crossing all limits" and violating the federal structure of the country. "Your ED is crossing all limits. You are totally violating the federal structure. How can there be an offence against the corporation?" CJI Gavai questioned Additional Solicito ...Read More >
Bhopal, June 27 (UNI) In a bizarre incident, 19 vehicles of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav's convoy broke down together after diesel allegedly mixed with water was filled in their tanks at a fuel station in the Ratlam district of the state late Thursday night. Authorities carried out an inspection of the fuel station, and subsequently it was sealed. The stalled vehicles, mostly Toyota Innovas, had to be towed away and a replacement fleet was summoned hurriedly from Indore, to be used for the CM, who arrived in Ratlam on Friday afternoon and inaugurated the Regional Industry, Sk ...Read More >
The car had a Maharashtra number plate. Luggage was tied to the roof of the vehicle, which made officials believe that a family had come from Maharashtra to visit Agra. A shocking and heartbreaking incident has come to light from the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. An elderly man was found unconscious and tied inside a locked car parked near the western gate. The incident has raised serious questions about human sensitivity and responsibility. According to Aaj Tak, the man had been locked inside the car for several hours. The extreme heat and humidity had made his condition critic ...Read More >
Shimla: The special CBI court here on Monday sent the suspended assistant sub-inspector, Pankaj Sharma, into one-day CBI custody. The ASI was arrested on Sunday in connection with the mysterious death of state power corporation chief engineer Vimal Negi.Sharma has been accused of tampering with a pen drive recovered from Negi's dead body in Bilaspur on March 18, which is key evidence in the case. The high court had handed over the probe to the CBI on May 23.A CBI team arrested Sharma on Sunday from his house in Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district. After questioning, Sharma was presented before the ...Read More >
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to present an amnesty proposal to the standing committee Wednesday, aiming to allow the issuance of occupation certificates (OC) for all residential buildings constructed before 2016. After several years of discussions, this initiative is expected to provide relief to around 12 lakh homeowners living in approximately 25,000 residential buildings across Mumbai. In December last year, the state government's Urban Development Department (UDD) appr ...Read More >