MAHARASHTRA

I: Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with HDFC appointing it as a Most Favored Institution (MFI).

The MOU was signed by Vikas Desai, finance controller at MHADA, and Ajay Sachdewa, joint general manager at HDFC Limited.

As an MFI, HDFC allottees from all 7 MHADA boards across Maharashtra (Mumbai, Konkan, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Amravati, Pune, and Nashik) will get loans at competitive interest rates and minimum processing charges.

The incidence of malaria has been dropping by 20% for two consecutive years, said state Health officials.

According to statistics released by thestate health department, while 19,303 cases were detected in 2021, the numbers dropped to 15,451 cases in 2022. This is a 20% drop in annual cases. Moreover, a comparison of cases in the periods between January and May 2022 and 2023, too, shows a 20% drop, said a state official. Till May this year, the state had 2,571 malaria cases.

These numbers gain significance as India is working towards malaria elimination by 2030. By 2027, the country has to achieve zero transmission, and if sustained for three years, the World Health Organisation would declare elimination of the mosquito-borne parasitic infection from the country.

Among the worst hotspots in the country during both the Covid-19 waves, Mumbai stabilised in May, but clearly not enough for shops and restaurants to keep regular hours.

The city falls in Level 3 as per the five-point system employed by the to relax restrictions. Malls and theatres will remain shut, and restaurants can operate up to 4 pm, and that too at 50% capacity to ensure social distancing norms are observed.

As per the state rules, a regular review of the criteria will be conducted to assess whether a district can move from, say, Level 3 to Level 2.

The ministry of DEFENCE has granted permission to the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) to hand over 1.85 hectares of land near Alandi to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for theEasternring road project.
The land in question is part of an Indian Army camp at Rase-Bhose village near Alandi.

The Army has its training and bomb disposal facility spread over 1,200 acres of land in the Rase-Bhose village area. It is a strategic facility in the zone of these villages.

Cyclone Tautkae has left behind a trail of miseries, with more than 13 lakh electricity consumers in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) facing power outage which, in some cases, was for as long as 16 to 33 hours. It was frustrating for thousands working from Home or those in Covid isolation.

In Maharashtra, more than 46 lakh consumers faced power tripping due to the cyclone.

At a few places, the transformers of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission company were affected too. The devastation included damage to at least 188 substations, 1,095 feeders and damage to 2,600 poles.

State revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told the state assembly that the government will introduce a new policy on sand mining before the end of the budget session. He had initially made the announcement during the December 2022 session.

The policy will control unchecked excavation, which is an environmental hazard. Private bodies extracting sand unchecked will be stopped. The government will set up controls for excavation,” said Vikhe Patil. He said the policy will put a stop to the use of heavy trucks to transport sand and also provide guidelines for the use of stone-crushers. He said the policy would take into account the use of sand for domestic use by villagers.
Earlier NCP leader Rajesh Tope had said that trucks were carrying 30-40 tons of sand on rural roads which did not have the capacity to carry more than 10 tons of weight.

TheMaharashtragovernment has estimated that the requirement of liquid medical Oxygen could go up to 2,300 metric tonnes (MT) a day in future and is keen to offer incentives for more units in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

This has been indicated in the State Economic Survey released on Thursday on the eve of Fridays Maharashtra budget. Currently, the state registered a daily production of 1,300 MT of liquid oxygen per day, as against the requirement of 1,800 MT if the Covid cases were to rise, stated the report.

The report stated that Maharashtra has planned for 114 liquid medical oxygen manufacturing units in the six revenue divisions at a proposed of Rs1,870 crore and EMPLOYMENT of 2,931.

Consumption of medical oxygen in Maharashtra had reached the full production capacity of 1,250 MT last year when the active Covid cases in the state had soared over 6 lakh. At least 10% of them, an estimated 60,000-65,000, were requiring oxygen. This was highest for any state.
Maharashtra, during that crisis, had to draw 50 MT of oxygen each fromChhattisgarhandGujaratand 100 tonnes from theRelianceplant inJamnagar. Maharashtra was among the 12 high-burden states for essential medical oxygen supply. Over 17,000 MT of oxygen were then directed in three batches from states with surplus stock.

In a bid to attract more foreign nationals to professional courses and to streamline the admission process for them, the launched a single-window portal for them.

The states CET cell will not only simplify the process for aspirants, but the state is hopeful that it will also help in increasing enrolment of international students. A separate link has been provided on the cetcell.mahacet.org for these students which will cover foreign nationals,NRIs, PIOs, OCIs, etc.

The state transport department is mulling over regularising the biketaxiservice inMaharashtrawith riders, but the action would continue against those ferrying passengers on two-wheelers in the city till then.

The service is risky for those availing it, considering the vehicular density and the way two-wheelers ply on roads.

Thebiketaxi service was expected to be allowed in certain towns, based on their vehicular density. A study will be done to ascertain the cities in which the service can be started. There is an intent to allow the service in certain places in the state.