1. Govt Amends Anti-Graft Law, CM Office Now Under Lokayukta Act
The state government on Tuesday amended a 48-year-old law to bring the office of the chief minister (CM) under the purview of the state’s ombudsman, the Lokayukta.
Based on the recommendations of a one-man committee, the state Cabinet approved a proposal to make changes to the Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta Act, 1971, in a bid to lend more teeth to the anti-corruption watchdog.
Talking to mediapersons, Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan said that apart from the Chief Minister’s Office, offices of all ministers and also the Opposition leader would be brought under the Lokayukta.
Source: The Indian Express
2. What Rules Were Violated While Killing T1 Tigress, Maharashtra Government Asks Probe Panel
The Maharashtra government has asked the committee that investigated the killing of tigress T-1 for details of the violations by the hunters that were hired by the forest department to shoot the animal, suspected of being a man-eater.
Forest department officials said they have written to the member secretary of the committee on Monday. “Once we receive the details, action can be initiated against the hunters and others involved in the case based on consultation with the state law and judiciary department,” said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest (APCCF), Mantralaya.
Source: Hindustan Times
3. Metro Is Vital For City, But So Is Tree Cover, Says High Court
Observing that trees are as vital to the city as the Metro project, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to hire or buy equipment to scientifically transplant and geotag trees.
A Division Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.A. Sayed was hearing a petition filed by one Neena Verma, highlighting the number of trees that are being cut for the Metro work and seeking a mechanism to ensure they are transplanted with care. The petitioner asked how it could be possible for the MMRCL to have the technology to build a Metro, but none to save trees.
Source: The Hindu
4. ‘Citizens of 16 Maharashtra Cities Likely To Breathe Polluted Air Till 2024’
Weeks after the Union environment ministry released the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to improve air quality by 20-30% in the next five years, a new report has said the NCAP uses limited data and its list of 102 cities omits a number of highly-polluted locations. Of the 17 cities identified in Maharashtra by the NCAP, citizens of 16 cities — including Mumbai — may continue to breathe polluted air despite the action plan, said the report.
Titled Airpocalypse III, the report compiled by the environmental activist group Greenpeace India was released on Tuesday. It concluded that on the basis of 2017’s pollution data, 25 cities in Maharashtra are unlikely to meet pollution control targets.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. City To Get 5,625 New CCTVs
The State Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval to install 5,625 new CCTV cameras in the city at a cost of ₹323.23 crore as part of the government’s CCTV surveillance project announced in 2016.
Mumbai already has 4,717 functional CCTVs installed at 1,510 locations under this project. With Tuesday’s decision, the total number of CCTVs in the city will go up to 10,342. The State government has also extended revised administrative approval to the expenditure of ₹1,303.56 crore.
Source: The Hindu
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