MAHARASHTRA

TheMaharashtragovernment has filed an affidavit in the Bombay identifying a total of 23,055 wetland sites in the state that measure more than 2.5 hectares (ha). These include at least 13 wetland sites within Navi Mumbai city, besides more in parts of Kharghar and Uran, among others.

The affidavit elaborates how the wetlands were identified and listed as per the demarcation of wetland boundaries supported by accurate digital maps with coordinates and validated by ground truthing, demarcation of its zone of influence and land use and the land cover indicated in a digital map, and ecological character description among, other criteria.

Since the past one-and-half years, the vast wetlands data from all the districts was collated and matched with the National Wetland Atlas while preparing the final official list following field visits and satellite mapping.
The wetlands identified from Navi Mumbai region include Seawoods Darawe, Seawoods Nerul, Belapur, Koparkhairane and Ghansoli areas, among others.

The zilla parishads water and sanitation department has proposed setting up of sewage treatment Plants (STP) at five locations along theBhima riverstretch to check pollution in the water body.

The STPs will come up atKoregaon Bhima, Perne in Haveli, Rahu and Mandavgun Pharata in Shirur and Daund tehsils, respectively, and Bhigwan inIndapurtehsil. We have asked people to give suggestions on the project, before sending the proposal to the for budgetary sanction, said a senior ZP official. A senior official from theMaharashtra Pollution Control Board, said, Industrial effluents and sewage from housing societies are released in the allied rivers of the Bhima. So, the STPs on these rivers are necessary.

The state government plans to make Bhima river pollution-free. The river resembles the shape of the moon in the town and devotees come to take a holy dip in the river before going for the darshan of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini at Pandharpur temple.

The report classifies aged states as those with elderly Population of more than five million. States with less than five million elderly people have been termed relatively-aged. The report identifies the regional patterns in ageing across states and provides a deeper insight of what is being done to support the elderly population.

The reports index framework includes four pillars: financial well-being, social well-being, Health system and income security; and eight sub-pillars: economic Empowerment, educational attainment and EMPLOYMENT, social status, physical security, basic health, psychological well being, social security and enabling Environment.

The index created by theInstitute for Competitivenesshighlights that the best way to improve the lives of the current and future generations of older people is by investing today in the health, Education and employment for the young.

The health system pillar shows the highest national Average of 66.97, followed by 62.34 in social well-being. The financial well-being score is at 44.7, which is lowered by the low performance of 21 states across the education attainment and employment pillars, which has scope for improvement. Many states have performed particularly worse in the income security pillar because over half of them have a score below the national average of 33.03, which is the lowest across all pillars.

In the past seven months, not one metric tonne of cargo has been exported from the Pune airport. This delay in the commencement of the integrated cargo terminal has become a source of frustration for small traders and those in the business of .

Sources in the airport said while the new facility is ready, a nod from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which provides permission for such facilities to operate at any airport, is still awaited. A team of BCAS personnel visited the facility earlier this week. They looked satisfied with the arrangements. However, they need to give us official permission to start the operations from the new facility. Our job is done. It is up to the BCAS now, an airport official said.

Domestic cargo imports and exports as well as international cargo exports were stopped by the BCAS in January 2023 due to certain regulatory and infrastructural issues at the existing cargo processing area. Later, some airlines like SpiceJet and IndiGo, were permitted to transport domestic cargo. Permission for international cargo exports was not given.

This conference is part of an event hosted by India in the field of Education during the 13th BRICS Summit this year.

The BRICS Network University is a confederation of higher education institutions from the five BRICS member countries formed with the goal of enhancing educational cooperation in general, and particularly in the realm of research and innovation.

IIT Bombay is India’s lead institution for the BRICS Network University.

Citizens’ complaints to the BMC have surged after Covid. According to a report released by the NGO Praja, complaints have risen from 90,250 in 2021 to over 1.04 lakh in 2022.

The report, titled ‘Status of Civic Issues in Mumbai, 2023’, focuses on growing issues related to solid Waste Management, sewage, air quality, and water bodies in Mumbai. The NGO emphasized that effective collaboration and Communication with citizens are essential for any civic body to function properly. This includes a uniform complaint redress mechanism where citizens can register complaints regarding civic issues in their locality, and the civic body becomes responsible for resolving them in a timely and structured manner.

Days after the Centres prod, the Maharashtra government has classified mucormycosis, or the deadly black fungus, as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
The state is also mulling capping the prohibitive treatment cost in private hospitals. It has already announced that its Health Insurance scheme would cover the cost in empanelled hospitals.

Once a disease is declared notifiable, the law requires that every patient is reported to the authorities. This allows proper monitoring and provides the authorities early warning of possible outbreaks. Several states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan have already declared mucormycosis a notifiable disease.

The state cabinet has cleared a newsand mining policyto crack down on the illegal extraction of sand. The policy bans auctions, introduces tendering for sand extraction and caps sand price at Rs 133 per metric ton on a pilot basis for a year to make it more affordable.
The policy, which had been announced in the state assembly.

The price of sand will be capped at Rs 600 per brass (Rs 133 per metric ton). “This will make sand more affordable to the public for construction,” said revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.

The government will stop auctions for the extraction of sand. Instead, it will float tenders for sand extraction, transport and construction of sand depots. Once the sand is extracted, it will be sold by the government through its depots through an online process. Hence, the government will be involved in the sale of sand.
A committee will be formed under the tehsildar to monitor sand extraction near rivers. Committees will also be formed at the taluka-level and district-level.

Days since the Centre-state feud over vaccine shortage broke out, more than 1,000 centres across the state have been shut and there has been a drop of 73% in the number of doses administered.

However, amid the war of words, Maharashtra has become the first state to administer more than 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. It has administered 10,038,421 doses till Sunday morning, highest in the country so far.

Maharashtra is aiming to administer 6 lakh doses per day and has been demanding 40 lakh doses per week from the Centre.

The has announced Rs 500 crore to acquire land along the coastal belt ofMaharashtra, betweenRevasin Raigad and Redi in Sindhudurg, for theMumbai-Goa coastal highway project.

A tender for a four-lane bridge over Dharamtar creek, costing around Rs 900 crore, was floated, finance minister Ajit Pawar revealed in his budget speech

The statesBalasaheb Thackeraymemorial prosperity corridor between Mumbai and Nagpur will be extended from Nagpur to Bhandara-Gondia and Nagpur to Gadchiroli. This will facilitate a fastest approach to tiger safaris in the jungles of Vidarbha. Around 77% work of this highway has been completed. Necessary funds will be provided for land acquisition of Jalna-Nanded Expressway, he added.

If all goes as planned, by 2025 Mumbaikars will be able to take a 500km scenic Marine highway along Konkan beaches and forts. In an earlier budget the Thackeray government had announced Rs 3,500 crore to develop the single-lane state highway (MSH4), with 30km of missing bridges over creeks and rivers, into a coastal highway on the lines of the pacific coast highway in US.