Plea in HC for fresh polls, new body

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : A senior medical practitioner has knocked on the doors of the Bombay High Court, alleging serious irregularities in the functioning of the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) and challenging the continuation of its current Administrator. In a petition filed through Advocate Sharad V. Natu, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant has termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman as “illegal and arbitrary,” and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture....

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Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : A senior medical practitioner has knocked on the doors of the Bombay High Court, alleging serious irregularities in the functioning of the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) and challenging the continuation of its current Administrator. In a petition filed through Advocate Sharad V. Natu, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant has termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman as “illegal and arbitrary,” and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture. Dr. Beramji, who headed the five-member statutory body 's inaugural term (from May 2018 to May 2023), was subsequently appointed as its Administrator after the council’s term expired. According to Dr. Sawant’s plea, the Administrator’s appointment was initially meant to be a stop-gap arrangement for one year, and it was ‘extended’ later. However, nearly three years later, the position continues without fresh elections being conducted, raising questions over adherence to statutory norms and principles of governance. Dr. Sawant has further contended that while Dr. Beramji was installed as Administrator, the remaining members of the council were effectively superseded, leaving the regulatory body without its mandated collective structure, and over 6500-members directionless. The petition claims that the delay in conducting elections was justified on the grounds of an incomplete voter list, but this reason was flimsy considering the extended time lapse. The petition, likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday (April 21), also levelled serious allegations regarding the manner in which the MCA has been run under the Administrator. It claims decisions have been taken unilaterally, whimsically and without transparency or institutional accountability. Besides, Dr. Sawant has made allegations of selective targeting of certain members who have attempted to raise valid issues, including the globally-renowned noted acupuncture expert Dr. P. B. Lohiya of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Adding to the controversy, a former MCA office-bearer has claimed that over the past three years, approvals were granted to more than a dozen acupuncture colleges in undue haste, purportedly in violation of prescribed norms and alleged shady deals. These institutions, it is claimed, either exist only on paper or lack essential infrastructure, faculty, and facilities. In addition, around two dozen Continuous Acupuncture Education (CAE) centres were also cleared during this period. In his multiple prayers to the high court, Dr. Sawant has sought quashing Dr. Beramji’s appointment as MCA Administrator and setting aside all policy decisions taken during his tenure in that capacity in the last three years. The petition also urged the court to direct the state government to conduct elections to elect and reconstitute a new five-member MCA within two months. Pending this, the plea seeks an order restraining the Administrator from continuing in office or interfering in the functioning of the MCA or the CAEs in the interest of free and fair elections or the cause of Acupuncture. Sources within the MCA have described the situation as “deeply concerning,” alleging that individuals of international standing, such as Dr. Lohiya - who has treated prominent personalities like Sachin Tendulkar, the late Manoj Kumar, state and central ministers and other public figures - are being unfairly hounded. The petition has called for a comprehensive review of all decisions taken during the Administrator’s tenure, a financial audit of the MCA’s financial affairs, and an independent probe by the Medical Education & Drugs Department (MEDD) into the approvals granted to the institutions in recent years. Despite repeated attempts by ‘ The Perfect Voice’ , top MCA officials like the Administrator or the Registrar Narayan Nawale, were not available for their comments.

Third Horizon

Correspondent
2 hours ago
2 min read

Mumbai has always grown by shedding its skin. From the original seven islands to the sprawl of Navi Mumbai, the city’s history is one of outward leaps to relieve inward pressure. The proposed ‘Third Mumbai’ project, the brainchild of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, is perhaps most ambitious of these expansions. Spread across more than 320 sq. km in Raigad, it promises to turn 124 villages in Uran, Panvel and Pen into a new economic frontier. The question is not whether Mumbai needs such an outlet. It plainly does. The question is whether it can be built without repeating the mistakes of the past.

On paper, the project is alluring. Anchored by the Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, and bolstered by plans for a parallel Pune-Mumbai expressway and water transport, Mumbai 3.0 aims to create a logistics and services hub with global ambitions. The blueprint reads like a planner’s wish list and includes data centres, fintech clusters, an ‘Edu City,’ mixed-use neighbourhoods and transit-oriented development. In a region where congestion chokes productivity and real estate prices exclude all but the wealthy, the promise of a planned, polycentric city is hard to resist.

Yet Indian urbanisation has often stumbled not in vision but in its execution, especially where land is concerned. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA), which recently announced a land acquisition blueprint, is offering landowners a menu of options: cash compensation, Transferable Development Rights (TDR), Floor Space Index (FSI), or a 22.5 percent of developed land.

The rhetoric, emphasising “participatory” and “people-centric” development, reflects a shift away from the heavy-handedness that has marred earlier projects. If done in this spirit, it will be eminently sensible politics. It is also sound economics.

Still, voluntariness in land acquisition is a delicate claim. Social pressure, information asymmetry and unequal bargaining power can blur the line between consent and compulsion. Farmers, asked to submit Aadhaar-linked documents and navigate online consent systems, may find themselves at a disadvantage against a well-oiled bureaucracy.

Officials say mangroves, forests and Coastal Regulation Zone areas will be avoided. In a region as ecologically fragile as coastal Maharashtra, that is necessary but not sufficient. The cumulative impact of large-scale urbanisation on water tables, flood patterns and biodiversity rarely respects neat administrative boundaries. Mumbai’s own recent history of flooding offers a cautionary tale of what happens when development outruns ecological prudence.

Then there is the familiar risk of speculative urbanism. Grand plans often promise inclusive growth but deliver enclaves for the affluent. That said, the inclusion of both luxury and affordable housing, and the emphasis on transit-oriented design, are encouraging.

Mumbai’s economic gravity demands new space. Third Mumbai could, if executed well, relieve pressure on the island city, deepen regional integration and create a template for more rational urban growth in India.