Mumbai this week: First BMC budget presented under administrator; suburban trains’ ridership drops after launch of new Metro lines

1. Rs 1,121.21 crore for various Metropolitan Transport Projects (MTPs) in Mumbai.
2. Rs 27,247.80 crore towards capital expenditure and Rs 25,305.94 crore towards revenue expenditure.
3. Rs 3,545 crore have been allocated for the ambitious Coastal Road project that is expected to complete by this year’s end, while Rs 1,060 crore are earmarked for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road.
4. The BMC has coined the policy as Mumbai’s ‘Air Pollution Mitigation Action Plan’ (APMAP) to curb air pollution concentration levels.
5. BMC has slashed the budget for the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) by 38 per cent. For the financial year 2023-24, the civic body has allocated Rs 227 crore to the MFB as compared to Rs 366 crore allocated last year.
6. The BMC has stated that any road in the city that has a minimum width of nine metres will have pedestrian-friendly footpaths. For this proposal, the BMC has earmarked a fund of Rs 200 crore.
7. At Rs 3,347.13 crore, BMC’s budget estimate for education for 2023-24 is marginally lesser than the Rs 3,370.24 crore of the last financial year.
8. With the flattening of the Covid-19 pandemic curve, allocation for the health sector dropped by nine per cent compared to the previous year in the BMC budget. The primary focus was on non-communicable diseases.

Metro Impact: Suburban train ridership reduces after new Metro lines open

Ridership on Mumbai’s suburban local trains on the Western Line is gradually falling after the opening of Metro Lines 2A and 7. Ridership at Andheri and Dahisar stations has dropped compared to the week before the new Metro lines were inaugurated.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Metro One Line running from Versova to Ghatkopar via Andheri started carrying out 18 trips more per day from February 1. Metro One officials said that the increase in number of trips is possible as trains will now run at 80 kmph from the previous 65 kmph speed limit.

Mumbai pollution (needs) better waste management…ready to give extra push: FM

Underlining that Mumbai, despite its coastal geography, now faces “severe air pollution,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman linked it to the challenge of waste management in the city and said she was willing to put her weight behind possible, local solutions. She said there was a perception that “the sea does the good cleaning job for us every day,” but, clearly, Mumbai had been hit hard.

‘Air purifying towers will have demonstration effect… need to take steps for industries and power sector’

MVA gives tough fight in biennial elections from teachers, graduates segments

In a setback to the ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi won three – Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati – of the five seats which were up for grabs in biennial elections from teachers and graduates segments. The BJP and independent candidate Satyajit Tambe won from the Konkan and Nashik graduates constituencies respectively.

Maharashtra’s First transgender ward starts at Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital

MBBS student murder: Bloodstains found on tube used to dispose body, say cops

In what could be a major breakthrough for the Mumbai Police investigating the murder of MBBS student Sadichcha Sane (22), the investigators have found dried splotches of blood on the floating tube recovered during panchnama from the residence of Mittu Singh, the prime accused in the case. Singh, as per police, had allegedly used this tube to take Sane’s body further into the sea where he disposed it after her death on the night she went missing on November 29, 2021.

Lung cancer deaths rise by 49% in two years

Lung cancer deaths rose by nearly 49 per cent in Mumbai between 2009 and 2021. The jump is significant and doctors cite carcinogenic risk due to long exposure to air pollution especially PM2.5, tobacco consumption and improved death certification procedures behind the sharp increase in lung cancer deaths. In 2021, there were 923 lung cancer deaths in the city, a 48.6 per cent jump in the 12-year period.

Cable-stayed bridge to decongest Ghatkopar traffic

To decongest the traffic at Ghatkopar in Mumbai, a cable-stayed bridge has been planned to replace the old and dilapidated Ghatkopar ROB on the Ghatkopar – Andheri Link road. It intersects at Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in Ghatkopar west. The 45-year-old road overbridge in Ghatkopar was declared dangerous during a structural audit of all bridges in Mumbai by the BMC after the collapse of the Gokhale bridge in Andheri in 2018 that killed two people.

READ | BMC’s Shiv Yoga Kendras have few takers in several areas

Cases against 36 over anti-CAA protests withdrawn

A case filed by the Mumbai police against 36 people, including activists and lawyers, for protesting at the Gateway of India against the attack on students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi for protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in January 2020 has been withdrawn.

Solving Crime | Shakti Mills gangrape case: Sketches, ‘secret informant’ lead cops to accused in 3 days

200 students screen BBC documentary on PM Modi

Over 200 students at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) in Mumbai watched the controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots on their personal devices inside the campus on Saturday evening. This was after a protest was held by BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BYJM) outside the institute gates in Deonar.

Here are the other important stories from the week:

1. After nearly three years, the BMC may hike property tax by at least 16 per cent later this year.
2. The Maharashtra government on Tuesday recognised ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha’ as the state song.
3. The Mumbai Police’s largest recruitment drive kicked off on Tuesday with over 7 lakh applicants vying for 8,070 posts of constables and police constable drivers.
4. Four people were killed in an accident that took place on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway on Tuesday after their car hit a luxury bus in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, at the spot that saw the accident that claimed the life of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry.
5. No relief for Sheezan Khan yet in Tunisha Sharma death case.
6. Eleven years after three blasts claimed 27 lives in Mumbai, the trial in the case began before a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court on Thursday.
7. The Maharashtra ATS on Thursday filed its chargesheet against five members of the now-banned Popular Front of India who were arrested after raids in September last year for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities.
8. The NIA received an email on Friday claiming that a person linked to the Taliban will carry out an “attack” in Mumbai.

Photo of the week

The Bandra Worli Sea Link is seen amid hazy conditions in Mumbai. The city recorded poor to very poor AQI in the past week, with the air deteriorating to levels below Delhi’s on some days. (Express photo by Pradip Das)

News to watch out for next week

1. PM Modi in Mumbai on February 10, likely to flag off twin Vande Bharat trains on new routes.
2. Bombay HC to hear on February 8 an anticipatory bail plea filed by actor Rakhi Sawant, detained after a model alleged that Sawant had made her inappropriate videos and photos viral.
3. The BMC, MPCB and SAFAR officials are expected to hold a joint meeting this week to discuss the relocating of AQI monitoring machines.
4. Pleas by Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot in loan fraud case seeking to quash FIR against them to be heard on February 6.
5. Bombay HC to hear state and BMC’s response on the current policy about unlicensed hawkers on February 6.
6. HC to hear PIL seeking to quash and set aside a notice issued by the Tree Authority of the BMC inviting suggestions and objections for removing 177 trees at Aarey.
7. HC to hear PIL by a lawyers’ organisation on February 9 seeking action against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju over their public comments “showing lack of faith in the Constitution by attacking institutions, including the Supreme Court”.