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Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been...

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been reduced to an annual ritual of tree-planting drives and clicking selfies for social media, though 90 pc of the saplings don’t survive even a day. “Only the government knows where those trees really are,” said Raj sternly. He recalled a "Blueprint of Maharashtra’s Development" he had proposed in 2015, in which he advocated how development without environmental sensitivity is hollow. Justifying, he said that the consequences are visible where roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are hailed as achievements, but even a short spell of rainfall can paralyze entire cities. Referring to recent reports on farmers returning from the fields after 10 am due to the scorching heat, Raj said that the worsening climate crisis has become an everyday reality. Citing official statistics, Raj claimed that extreme heat has caused productivity losses of nearly USD 159 billion and slashing of 160 billion work-hours annually in recent years. He mentioned the World Bank estimates that India’s GDP could plummet by 2.5-4.5 pc while 57 pc of the country’s districts sheltering 76 pc of the population stare at serious climate-related crises. Taking a swipe, he said while the governments boast about growth figures and economical rankings, they are silent on the staggering costs of environmental destruction. He questioned the development model “whether flooded cities, washed-away crops and unbearable summers” genuinely indicate progress. Claiming that Maharashtra was increasingly becoming unliveable for upto 8 months in a year, he said excessive monsoon rains disrupt rural life and urban floods cripple cities, while extreme heat make normal life a torture in summers in both urban-rural areas. Targeting the Centre, Raj alleged that nearly 173,984 hectares of forest lands were diverted in the past 11 years for mining and infrastructure projects to benefit the PM’s single favourite Adani Group. He said that these lands amount to 1,730 sqkm, or equivalent to the area of 16 Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) that is spread over barely 104 sqkm. Dissolve state wildlife board: Aaditya Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray has accused the Maharashtra government for issuing a permit to carry out mining activity in the sensitive tiger corridor between the Tadoba-Andhari and Indravati sanctuaries housing the big striped cats. In a strongly-worded letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Member-Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Thackeray sought his immediate personal intervention, sacking the Maharashtra State Board for Wild-Life (SBWL), revoking the permit, and probe against the Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) M. Srinivasa Reddy for the alleged lacunae. Aditya’s two-pager says the permit has been granted for “scientific exploration and excavation/systematic recovery of low-grade iron ore in existing mines in villages Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi and Round Parsalgondi, in the Etapalli taluka of Gadchiroli district”. Last January, Aditya – MLA from Worli – had first raised the issue saying that the proposed mine would create only 120 jobs, including 32 permanent, and the estimated output is pegged at 1.1 million tons in a year. Referring to two letters of Reddy – on April 28 and May 21 – the SS (UBT) leader claimed that in communications to the state government, the PCCF had changed his stance on the issue. Aditya said that in the first letter, Reddy had effectively opposed the government plans for mining activity but in the second letter, he took a somersault, ostensibly due to government pressures or some commercial interests, “the U-turn is disgraceful and detrimental to India’s national interest” – and this abrupt shift in stance must be investigated thoroughly. In view of the contrary stance of the PCCF Reddy, entrusted with protecting the wildlife but failing to defend the NTCA and NBWL, point to serious malfunctioning of the SBWL, and hence it must be dissolved, besides reviewing all its decisions in the past three years, particularly those pertaining to hazardous activities in sensitive areas, demanded Aditya. 444 tigers roam in 11,000 sq.km As per the Status of Tiger Report (2002), and the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2025-2026, the state boasts of 444 tigers prowling in the wild along with other menacing creatures. The state’s total protected wildlife network of 88 Notified Areas of National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Conservation Reserves - including 6 dedicated to the striped big cats – is spread over 11,092 sq. kms as per current data.

Baramati Police refuse FIR as well, Rohit Pawar vows to fight

Mumbai | Pune: Baramati Taluka Police on Thursday refused NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar’s demand to file an FIR over the plane crash that killed former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in January. Rohit Pawar was accompanied by his cousin Yugendra Pawar and their supporters as they approached Baramati Police. Even after one-and-a-half hours of heated discussion, police officials did not agree to file an FIR but only accepted a written complaint.


Rohit Pawar had a similar experience at Marine Drive Police Station on Wednesday.


What happened

Outside the station house in Baramati, an agitated Rohit Pawar said the police maintained that the CID, AAIB and DGCA were already investigating the crash.


“The police have transferred their accidental death report case to the CID, which is probing it now. Our demand is to register a case against the officials of DGCA, the Learjet owners VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd., and also the handler, Arrow Aviation Services, for giving false information on the prevailing weather conditions at Baramati that day. However, the police have not lodged the FIR,” alleged Rohit Pawar.


He argued that the AAIB will confine itself to the technical aspects of the crash and would not examine the alleged criminal angles leading to the tragedy.


“We raised the DGCA’s (Tuesday) report grounding five Learjets of VSRVPL for non-compliance with approved procedures pertaining to airworthiness, air safety and flight operations. If there were issues with the aircraft, then why was it chartered to Ajit Pawar?” Rohit Pawar asked.


The Jamkhed–Karjat MLA reiterated his demand for the resignation of Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu until the probe into the Baramati disaster is completed.


Supporters join the Pawars

Over a hundred lawyers and senior members of the local Bar Association, plus a large number of Pawar supporters, trooped to the Baramati Taluka police station, raising slogans and demanding justice for Ajit Pawar as Rohit and Yugendra arrived.


Rohit Pawar claimed that despite answering all police queries and asserting their legal rights, officers remained unmoved.


“Some of the police officials had become emotional; we noticed that they were ready to cooperate but were under some pressure from outside,” he alleged.


Yugendra Pawar joins clamour

Backing Rohit Pawar, Yugendra Pawar demanded that the police must register an FIR against VSRVPL, and expressed confidence that the Baramati Police would ‘give us justice 100 percent’.


“A large number of admirers of Ajit Pawar have spontaneously arrived here and it is the demand of the masses to file the FIR, take proper action against those concerned and ensure justice for our great leader whom we lost in the air crash,” Yugendra Pawar said.


Among the crowd, many raised concerns about how ‘certain forces’ were allegedly blocking the FIR They had suspicions of a possible conspiracy.


CID investigation

The Pune-headquartered Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday said that it was probing multiple angles, including criminal conspiracy, criminal negligence and illegal omissions behind the Jan. 28 Baramati air-crash.


“The Baramati Taluka Police have registered an ADR (No. 11/2026), under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. We are investigating different angles, including a criminal conspiracy, criminal negligence or rash act and criminal illegal omissions to determine whether it was an accident or a plot,” Additional Director General of Police, CID, Sunil Ramanand told mediapersons.

 

“The probe is underway at the right pace and proceeding in the right direction… The investigations are being done most professionally. We have a big team and are taking help from various other agencies,” he said.

 

He added that when AAIB releases its report, it will be ‘factored in’ for the CID probe.

 

“Our focus is solely on the criminal aspects. Certain aspects have come to our notice… and more may emerge as the probe progresses,” said Ramanand. 

 

 

 


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